Jaspreet Singh (born 1969) is a Canadian writer and chemist.

Life and early career

He grew up in India and moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1990. He is a former research scientist with a PhD in chemical engineering from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. From August 2006 until June 2007, Singh was a resident in the

Calgary Distinguished Writers Program The Calgary Distinguished Writers Program at the University of Calgary strives to advance the careers of Canadian writers, invigorate the Calgary writing community, and enhance the activities of the Faculty of Arts and the Department of English. ...

at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. He served as the 2016–17 Writer-in-Residence at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

Works

Singh is the author of the novel ''Chef'' (2008 Véhicule Press/2010 Bloomsbury), and '' Seventeen Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir'', a collection of linked stories. Both books deal with the damaged landscapes of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, especially

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...

. His play, ''Speak, Oppenheimer'', written for Montreal's Infinite Theatre, involves three physicists, including

J. Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist. A professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, Oppenheimer was the wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is often ...

. He contributed an essay to the anthology '' AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories from India'' (2008). His second novel, ''Helium'', was published in 2013. It tells the story of a young chemistry student whose mentor was murdered in the course of the

anti-Sikh riots The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs ...

in 1984. His personal essay about 1984 in India was published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as "Thomas Bernhard in New Delhi". ''November'', a collection of poems, appeared in 2017. His newest novel, ''Face'', is slated for publication in 2022."66 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2022"

CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, January 11, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Jaspreet 1969 births Living people Canadian male short story writers Canadian male novelists Indian emigrants to Canada Indian male novelists McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni Writers from Quebec Canadian writers of Asian descent Canadian people of Indian descent 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers