de Castell’s new fantasy release

Author of 16 fantasy novels, Sebastien de Castell (left) is set to release the first book of his new series in April, following his internationally acclaimed fantasy series, Greatcoats and Spellslinger.” FULL STORY

 

Punjabi lit at VPL

May 02nd, 2014

Sadhu Binning will read from his latest book on Thursday, May 22, at 7 p.m. in Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, of Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch, 350 West Georgia Street.

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Sadhu Binning’s new fiction collection in English, Fauji Banta Singh & Other Stories (Toronto: TSAR 2014), examines the private lives in B.C.’s Sikh community–“the successes and failures, the growing and painful irrelevance of the old, changing values and the conditions of the women, the place of religion and tradition, and the ever-present echoes of distant Indian politics and national extremism.”

The stories represent a new stage in Binning’s writing career. “These are stories that I originally wrote in Punjabi,” he says, “and then sort of recreated them in English making necessary changes to make them sound more suitable to English readers. English is my second language and I have had a love-hate relationship with it since my high school years when I was regularly beaten by my English teacher for making simple mistakes. I can still feel the sting of his stick on my cold hands early winter mornings.”

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Born in Chiheru, Punjab, India in 1947, Sadhu Binning immigrated to Canada in 1967. A founding member of Vancouver Sath, a theatre collective, and Ankur, Binning is a central figure in the Punjabi arts community. He sat on the BC Arts Board from 1993 to 1995. He has been on several advisory boards including Rangh magazine. His works have been included in close to thirty anthologies both in Punjabi and English. Also a translator, he is a founding member of Punjabi Language Education Association and have been actively promoting Punjabi language in BC schools. He has presented papers on language and culture in a number of international conferences. Binning lives in Burnaby with his wife Jagdish, son Preet and daughter Priya. He edited a literary monthly Watno Dur from 1977 to 1982 and he currently co-edits Watan, a Punjabi quarterly. He has been teaching Punjabi at UBC since 1988, eventually at the Asian Studies Department at the University of British Columbia.

Most of his books are in Punjabi and published in India.

History:
Sangharash de sau vre: Kaneda vich Panjabi pragatisheel lahar (One Hundred Years of Struggle: Punjabi Progressive Movement in Canada). Ludhiana, Chetna Parkashan, 2000. With Sukhwant Hundal.

Novel:
Jugtoo, 2002

Poetry:
Yaar Mera Driya, 2001
No More Watno Dur a bilingual – English Punjabi – collection, 1994
Rishte Dariawan De, 1991
Jangal De Virudh, 1986
Sone Rangi Sarak, 1976

Short Stories:
Fauji Banta Singh & Other Stories, 2014
Katha Canada, Co-Edited, 2000
Lihon Lathe, 1994
Kis Da Kasur, 1982

Plays:
Picket Line, Co-authored, 1995
Research:
Sangharash De Sau Vre, Co-authored, 2000
Vot Da hak, Co- Authored, 1997

Translations:
Maluka, Co-Translated a novel from English into Punjabi, 1988
Bud Dhillon, A Life Story by Kartar Dhillon, 2002

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