Book Launch - Under a Maple Tree, by Jagjeet Sharma
Join local author and poet Jagjeet Sharma at the launch of her latest collection of poetry, Under a Maple Tree. Pick up your autographed edition of this new release!
February 11th, from 2 pm to 4 pm
Eggspectation, 171 Bank St., downtown Ottawa, Ontario.
Under a Maple Tree is a mixed and random collection of poetry, a byproduct of the Covid-19 pandemic; sometimes its cure worse than the disease, causing devastation and destruction, leaving our lives in the wake of division and a pendulum of emotions.
Once a peaceful country, post-Covid Canada has found itself in a conundrum of incongruities and divisions, its very unity and stability in question; socially, politically, and economically.
A random collection of social and political discourse put in poetic form - a reflection of our times - the news stories of 2022 – Covid-19 - the truckers convoy – the neglect and abuse of our elders in our long term care facilities - the horrific findings of our residential schools. This collection is a continuation of the author's journey and journalistic poetry.
And as we exit this pandemic as a society, as we begin collecting our wits, as the shell shock abates and healing can slowly commence, Under a Maple Tree is the beginning of this journey, a time when we can begin to digest and reflect upon these past tumultuous years.
Jagjeet Sharma is a freelance journalist, poet and author. She hosts a weekly radio show in Ottawa along with her team of dedicated volunteers on CKCU 93.1fm.
She has three collections of poems to her credit. Nature's Subtle Seductions, published 2018; Fragments, published 2019. Raindrops, her third collection was launched in June 2020.
COVID 19 Chronicles - Reflections on the 2020 pandemic was published in November 2020. This anthology, a limited edition, was launched in December 2020. It was initiated by the Ottawa Ethnic Media Forum (OEMF) with support from the Media Club of Ottawa. COVID 19 Chronicles Part 2- Road to Recovery anthology was published December 2021.
Jagjeet has contributed to several publications, the Ottawa Independent Writers’ anthology, “Short stories for a long year,” 2020; “Ottawa Rising,” 2022; Broken Keys Publishing's anthology, Love & Catastrophē Poetrē, 2021; the Glebe Report (Ottawa);Apt 613, and The Canadian Literature: A quarterly of Criticism and Review. Jagjeet is also one of the judges on the Bywords poetry selection committee.
She is an Ottawa Independent Writers’ (OIW) ex-board member; a member of the North Grenville Writers’ Circle; a founding member of the Ottawa Ethnic Media Forum, and a member of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA). She won the CEMA award for journalistic excellence 2021 in the print category.
She is currently working on a collection of short stories, another collection of poems, COVID-19 Part 3 anthology, and other projects.