Photo: Samuel Obadero

Kirti Bhadresa

By Meghan Power

Kirti Bhadresa’s first collection of short stories will be published in October 2024 by ECW Press, and she has already drafted 80,000 words of her next work. Her first novel is a story about women of colour, people whose stories are seldom told: “But who are, in many ways,” says Kirti, “the backbone of our society. Women whose labour is essential to make so many systems function. And yet, these women often work in silence.”

Kirti believes time is one of the most incredible gifts that can be given to an artist. “In the past I didn’t have the ability to focus enough to write a full novel. Receiving funding from Canada Council for the Arts and Calgary Arts Development (CADA) has allowed me to commit the time and resources to writing this book; one to write it and the next to edit it. This allowed me the time to go much deeper into my work than even I expected.”

 

For her novel, Kirti draws on her personal experience working a variety of jobs to write her characters. It’s written from three points of view: “three women who work in a medical setting, each with very different jobs, navigating their personal longings and societal expectations along with the need to work, and their desire to also have satisfying, connected lives. They also find themselves connected to each other.

 

“It is a really beautiful thing to me that I’m able to write in depth about being a woman of colour who is navigating the compromises that are made within a workplace. There is often a balance we have to find between who we are and what we must tolerate at work. And yet, we somehow find ways to be our authentic selves too, and find the people who make space for us. We discover or create communities, friendships, the places we can be our true selves, often outside of where we work for money. This is the space I wanted to explore. Where the hope is.

 

“I have lived in Calgary for 32 years and see so many artists exploring different parts of our collective experiences here, from all kinds of unique perspectives. The stories of Albertans, those on the margins, are not told often enough. And there are an infinite number of compelling and vibrant stories to tell from within our province. I am so grateful for this funding which has allowed me to explore a tiny part of these experiences through fiction.

 

“The fact that I was selected for this grant, that CADA believes in me, gives me the courage to keep going. I am so honoured to be a part of this community. Support for these projects is so important for us to grow together as a cohesive society, built on compassion and respect. Thank you!”