Sept 14 & 15: Remembering Air India Book Launch

New from University of Alberta Press, Remembering Air India:

On June 23, 1985, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 killed 329 people, most of them Canadians. Today this pivotal event in Canada’s history is hazily remembered, yet certain interests have shaped how the tragedy is woven into public memory, and even exploited to advance a strategic national narrative. Remembering Air India insists that we “remember Air India otherwise.” This collection investigates the Air India bombing and its implications for current debates about racism, terrorism, and citizenship. Drawing together academic analysis, testimony, visual arts, and creative writing, this innovative volume tenders a new public record of the bombing, one that shows how important creative responses are for deepening our understanding of the event and its aftermath.”

Book launch details in Toronto and Hamilton:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Click here for More Book Launch details

History, Memory, Grief: 30th Anniversary Air India Conference

I will be doing a reading and presentation for this Air India related conference at McMaster University, May 6-7:

Click the poster for more details

air india [redacted]: silence & longing 30 years since flight 182

Based on the award-winning book of poetry “children of air india” by Vancouver writer, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, this is an international project with music by Irish composer Jürgen Simpson. air india [redacted] is a multi-layered work featuring Turning Point Ensemble, soprano Zorana Sadiq, baritone Alexander Dobson, countertenor Daniel Cabena and moving images. The result is an innovative theatrical experience of music, voice, poetry and projections that will address multiple issues related to the Air India bombing.”

Showtimes: November 6, 7, 10, and 11th at 8:00 pm, Doors at 7:30 pm
Matinee performance: November 8 at 2:00 pm, Doors at 1:30 pm

Location: Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 W. Hastings Street, Vancouver

Purchase Tickets Here 

air india [redacted] – Director Tom Creed

Director Tom Creed speaks about his memories of Air India Flight 182 and his work on air india [redacted]…

Tickets Available Here

Charles Adler: Public Servant or Town Fool? (about Air India and an MP’s comments)

Was a guest on the Charles Adler show on July 16/2015, speaking to poetry and politics in response to Conservative MP Wai Young’s recent comments on Air India 182 bombing. 

Air India 182: The 30th Anniversary

Ahakista Memorial of the Air India 182 Bombing. Image by Pam Brophy.

This past month, I was honoured to be invited to do a reading from children of air india at the West Cork Arts Centre. Below, a summary of the Irish news coverage regarding the 30th anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182:

• Irish Independent: Tributes to family killed in Air India blast 30 years ago
• UTV Ireland: Air India disaster victims remembered at Cork memorial (VIDEO)
• The Irish Time: Air India bombing victims to be remembered in west Cork
• The Irish Examiner:  The sea is their grave, this is where we grieve (VIDEO)
• The Irish Examiner: Tears and trauma in West Cork and beyond: The Air India crash 30 years on (VIDEO)
• The Southern Star: Niece of Air India victims for Uillinn

The bombing of Air India Flight 182: A Canada/Ireland connection

Guest reading in Skibbereen, Ireland on June 22 titled History, Grief, Remembrance: the bombing of Air India Flight 182, June 23, 1985, a Canada/Ireland connection.

Image from the West Cork Art Centre

“This event at Uillinn will probe in these various ways “the central proposition that violence emits a continuing sonar, an echolocation that finds us, as citizens/individuals/people, and as a community/nation/gathering.”

Date: Monday 22 June, 2015
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Uillinn – West Cork Arts Centre
Free Event, Booking required
All welcome

I’ll also visit the Air India Memorial in Ahakista, Ireland to attend the 30th Anniversary memorial: there is a garden on the shores of the Sheep’s Head peninsula, a long stone wall carved with the names of the dead and a sundial sculpture… each year local Cork families and school children join returning Air India family members in a short service. One of my first Air India poems imagined this experience: “Flying across Canada to Ireland” and it is now embedded across the length of the book, children of air india.