What poets or writers influenced your work?
I loved John Keats, Robert Frost and Shakespeare when I was in school in Singapore. I did not realize the big world of other writers because of the focus on mostly White British writers in Singapore schools. The only one that was different was Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart that I had to study for my GCE O Levels. Wow. What a writer. I could not believe the world and the stories unknown to a girl in Singapore.
Then, at the University of Calgary, I was excited to take this course, mesmerized by the introduction to post-colonial writers. I was hooked – Anita Desai, Rohinton Mistri, Bessie Head, Salman Rushdie, Jamaica Kincaid, V.S. Naipaul… the new unknown list was endless. I was taken aback that “other” stories existed and were just as important as the others. These stories were my stories. I was, finally, represented.
What themes or ideas do you investigate through your work?
I write about race, colour, immigration and plight of women.
How many collections/novels have you produced?
I wrote my first novel in 2022: Letters to Singapore. This novel was published by Stonehouse Publishing. My children’s book, Red Barn Books, about the first pioneer and Sikh immigrant in Calgary, was launched on April 1, 2025: Howdy, I’m Singh Hari. My poetry collection, My Love is a Durian, is coming out October 15, 2026. It is published by the University of Calgary Press.
Where to now?
I want to try nonfiction and write a play. Oh, and I have to write my short story collection.
If you wish to folly up the work of Kelly Kaur see the link below
www.instagram.com/kellykaur3/
