Award-winning poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver, both of New West, will debut their new collaborative CD, Flight 182 Meditations, on June 3 at the Shiloh Sixth Avenue United Church.
The CD project features a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Saklikar`s book about the bombing of Air India Flight 182.
The collaboration between Saklikar and Oliver began with an introduction by then Arts Council of New Westminster president Rick Carswell in 2012.
``He just introduced us to see if we might want to collaborate,`` Oliver said.
Saklikar had just finished writing Children of Air India: Un/Authorized Exhibits and Interjections.
``Her aunt and uncle were on that plane,`` Oliver explained.
``We met over coffee and she handed me the manuscript at that time…. I was quite impressed, because it was at once very personal and then there were all these other more hard-edged poems. She had really captured the conundrum of the Air India story in a way that had never been tackled as a subject ever before.``
``I immediately took to it and agreed `Yes I`d like to work with you, especially on this project.```
Saklikar and Oliver have been working on the project for a few years and have performed two sections of the CD at the 2013 and 2014 New West LitFest.
The CD launch and performance takes place Wednesday, June 3, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Shiloh Sixth Avenue United Church, 1111 Sixth Ave, New West.
The performance is a benefit for the church. Donations of $15 or more receive a free CD.
