CBC Radio Interview

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-78-all-in-a-weekend/clip/15808810-rina-singh-a-show-book-song

It was fun to talk to Aimslie on the CBC a show-book-song on Diwali Day.

The show is usually reserved for Quebec artists but being a proud ex-Montrealer counts.

Four years back when my Diwali book came out I was in their studio for an interview.

Thanks to 2020, I did this interview on the phone. The sound quality isn't the greatest

but I got to talk about the show I watched, a book I read, and a song that resonated with me during the lockdown and how the pandemic has affected my imagination. It's a question that has intrigued me too.

How are other artists and writers processing this collective grief of the virus?

I talked a little about a story I wrote during the lockdown. What helped me with my anxiety was going for walks and taking pictures of trees, birds, and clouds.

On a solitary walk during lockdown, I passed a field, a school, a playground, a park, a trail.

They were all empty. A stillness had fallen over the city. I looked up and saw a bird in a tree.

I imagined if it wondered where did we all go. I wondered if the birds were worried for us.

The story came to me wordlessly.

It too was empty of words. EMPTY will be published by Orca Book Publishers in 2023.