The poet and educator Renée Sarojini Saklikar discusses Bramah’s Quest (Nightwood Editions, 2023), the second installment in her epic fantasy The Heart of This Journey Bears All Patterns (THOT J BAP), with Joseph Planta.

Bramah’s Quest by Renée Sarojini Saklikar (Nightwood Editions, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Bramah’s Quest

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Renée Sarojini Saklikar joins me again. She’s just published Bramah’s Quest, the second installment in her epic fantasy saga in verse The Heart of This Journey Bears All Patterns (THOT J BAP). It’s a book length poem that features the time-travelling demigoddess Bramah, a locksmith and the saga’s hero. We’re in 2087 now, and Brahmah is back on a planet Earth ravaged by climate change and global inequality. I’ll ask Renée about where the book finds our hero, as well as get her to tell us about new characters that are in this book, like Sherronda, a famed general and war strategist; a warrior/scholar named Batholomew, a kind of Robespierre; and Rajancrantz and Gabbarbhai, two assassins modelled after Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. And we’ll talk about this series, and the past ten years she’s spent writing about the existential crises we face. Renée Sarojini Saklikar is the author of five books including the award-winning Children of Air India, and Listening to the Bees. Her poetry has been published in sundry literary magazines and anthologies. She was poet laureate of the City of Surrey from 2015-2018, and teaches creative writing and editing at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Visit https://thecanadaproject.wordpress.com/ for more. We taped this interview in mid-August. This new book is published by Nightwood Editions. And as a bit of a programming note, Renée will be back on the program in a couple of weeks to continue the conversation. I am always happy to talk to Renée about her work, about words, and life itself frankly. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program Renée Saklikar; Ms. Saklikar, good morning.

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