On October 15, 2019, we welcomed special guest Jaspreet Singh, an internationally renowned novelist, essayist, poet and short-story writer. He was accompanied by Christine Gingerick of the Calgary Public Library Foundation, our marvelous tour guide when the new library was unveiled, and Calgary poet Rosemary Griebel. Mr. Singh is the 2019 Calgary Public Library’s Author in Residence.

Mr. Singh read excerpts from ELENA FERRANTE, of whom he is a huge fan. He spoke of the art of Ms. Ferrante’s English translator Ann Goldstein, which segued smoothly to reading part of his essay “My Mother, My Translator,” which you can (should!) read in entirety (link provided below.)

This poignant essay begins with a relatively short visit his mother made to Canada. Her son’s first book, 17 Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir, had been published. She had arrived with her own translation into Punjabi of the first of the fourteen short stories contained in his English work.

Mr. Singh was impressed that his mother had so eloquently captured in Punjabi the emotional impact of the story. In six weeks, she had handwritten translations of 13 of the 14 stories but had skipped the 9^th. When she mailed it later, her son — the author — was upset, as she had made some specific changes to the story. She insisted the story then should be left out, should he not make her changes! Eventually, they compromised by adding a Translator’s Note.

However, “the 9^th” was more her story, and became the catalyst for her to write her own memoirs of a woman born in British-occupied India, who had experienced the 1947 partition creating Pakistan and the 1984 Sikh Massacre. It is now her son Jasmeet who is learning much more of his mother’s life, while translating from Punjabi to English. We look forward to being able to read these memoirs someday!

Mr. Singh also mentioned briefly two of his novels, Chef and Helium. They are perfect reading for gaining deep insight into India, Pakistan and Kashmir, for our season of Cultural Awareness Through Literature.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ESSAY (Granta.com) and to coincidentally discover a most interesting quarterly and book publisher.