children of air india – with Daniel Zomparelli and Jordan Abel:
Jordan Abel: I’m very interested by how, after children of air india became a book, you were able to look back on your writing process. I often find myself wondering exactly what inspired me to choose the direction that the book ended up following. For me, I think erasure was a reaction to a moment of pure frustration. I felt unable to access the richness of the intersection between my life and Barbeau’s text. And, as a result, I felt an overwhelming desire to silence Barbeau’s interpretation of history. That, of course, began with me erasing parts of his writing, which was a process that I attempted to continue throughout the rest of the project.
I was wondering, once you found your way into the Air India / Canada narrative, what processes sustained your writing?”