Rajinderpal S. Pal was born in Punjab, India and grew up in London, England. He lived in Calgary, Alberta, from 1980-fall 2004 when he relocated to Vancouver. Pal obtained a B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Calgary and has worked in laboratory research and medical sales.
Poetry
Pappaji Wrote Poetry in a Language I Cannot Read: Poems
Toronto: TSAR, 1998.
PS8581 .A44 P36 1998
Publisher’s Synopsis
The poems in this book form a narrative whole that leaps between past and present, between childhood and adulthood, and between languages. Issues of cross-cultural politics and relationships are addressed, and loss across generations and migrations across continents. All of this is entwined with the search for the poet-father and the attempt to come to terms with the past.
Awards and Honours
1999 Henry Kreisel Award for Best First Book-Alberta Literary Awards (Writers’ Guild of Alberta)(Winner)
Poetry
Pulse: Poems
Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002.
PS8581 .A44 P84 2002
Publisher’s Synopsis
Pulse is a collection of love poems, about the sharing of stories and the sharing of our discovered selves; about those moments in our lives that we cling to, then draw upon as we “strive for fabric and texture” in our lives. With echoes of Ondaatje and Wah, Pal’s magical, ringing voice sings intimate. These are sensual poems; explorations of “the pulse in fingertips.” Pulse is a mature, sophisticated collection from one of our truest poets.
Awards and Honours
2002 Stephan G. Stephannson Award for Poetry-Alberta Literary Awards (Writers’ Guild of Alberta)(Finalist)
2003 City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize (Shortlisted)
Anthology
First Chapter: The Canadian Writers Photography Project
Denton, Don, and Rajinderpal S. Pal. “Rajinderpal S. Pal.” In Denton, Don. First Chapter: The Canadian Writers Photography Project. Banff, AB: Banff Centre Press, 2001, 72-73.
Links
Publisher Arsenal Pulp Press
Publisher Mawenzi House, formerly TSAR
Interview with Larissa Lai conducted in 1999 from the Writers for Change website