Launching audio-first publication! In this special episode of The Poet Laureate Podcast, host Kyeren Regehr speaks with poet, educator, and Surrey’s inaugural Poet Laureate, Renée Sarojini Saklikar. Renée reads two poems from Bramah’s Discovery, along with a new poem arriving first through sound—marking the podcast’s inaugural audio-first publication. Their conversation moves through epic poetry, climate change, teaching, embodiment, and the mysterious ways poems first arrive. Renée takes us inside The Heart of This Journey Bears All Patterns—THOTJBAP—her nearly one-thousand-page epic fantasy trilogy in verse, and reflects on the traditions, imaginative rigor, and sustained creative practice that shaped its world.

Renée also speaks about poetry as a form of memory, resistance, and connection; the importance of movement and sound within her writing practice; and the role of craft, revision, and publication in the lives of emerging writers. Looking back on her years as Surrey’s Poet Laureate, she considers the power of multilingual, intercultural, and intergenerational poetry programs to create lasting community.

Renée Sarojini Saklikar is the author of six books, including the award-winning Children of Air India and Listening to the Bees. Her work has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies, including Exile Editions, Chatelaine, The Capilano Review, and Pulp Literature. She was Poet Laureate for the City of Surrey from 2015–2018, co-founded Lunch Poems at SFU, and teaches Creative Writing at Douglas College. Bramah’s Discovery is the third volume of her epic fantasy in verse trilogy, THOTJBAP, The Heart of This Journey Bears All Patterns. She lives in East Vancouver, grateful to live, work, and play on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples.

For more information about Renée Sarojini’s life, work, and service to the arts, please visit:

Episode links:

Renée Sarojini Saklikar / THOT J BAP
https://thotjbap.com/

thecanada?project
https://thecanadaproject.com/

Bramah’s Discovery — Nightwood Editions
https://nightwoodeditions.com/products/9780889714946

Nightwood Editions
https://nightwoodeditions.com/

Douglas College Creative Writing
https://www.douglascollege.ca/programs-courses/explore-programs-courses/faculties/language-literature-and-performing-arts/creative-writing

Haus of Owl Creation Lab
https://www.hausofowl.com/

We acknowledge with gratitude that this work was created on the unceded homelands of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.

The Poet Laureate Podcast is recorded in studio at Haus of Owl: Creation Labs—supporting artists to create the best work of their careers. Original music by Chris Regehr. To learn more or reach out, visit www.thepoetlaureatepodcast.com or find us on Instagram @poetlaureatepodcast & [email protected].

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. / Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. 

This podcast is The Canada Council for the Arts mandate is to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. Through its grants, services, prizes, initiatives, and payments, the Canada Council supports a dynamic and diverse arts and literary scene. These activities generate a meaningful cultural, social and economic impact for over 2,000 communities in all parts of the country and beyond. The investments and leadership of the Council help advance public engagement in the arts from coast to coast to coast while also contributing to the international recognition of artists and arts organizations from Canada.