Friday Special Blend
Friday September 22nd, 2023 with Susan Johnston
The Small Machine Talks: Manahil and Nimra Bandukwala

The Friday Blend team is privileged to collaborate with Amanda Earl of Angel House Press to air the Small Machine Talks: an ongoing conversation about art & literature &... In this episode, Amanda interviews Manahil and Nimra Bandukwala. The work of Nimra and Manahil Bandukwala to share the folklore of Pakistan is all-encompassing and offers many different ways of approaching the stories from colourful gorgeous art that uses elements of nature from Pakistan and Canada, to the stories and the poems that give us both overviews and first-person perspectives of the stories. Folklore is the expression of cultures, and such expression is often lost over time, and often this loss is due to imperialism and colonialism. I am grateful that Manahil and Nimra decided to share these stories with the world. They are empowering works of delight, heartbreak and beauty. About: The Small Machine Talks began in 2016 with co-hosts a.m. Kodak and Amanda Earl to explore the poetry scene in Central Canada and beyond. The challenges of having to social distance in 2020 due to the pandemic have led to a need to forego in person interviews and move to a virtual platform. Amanda has rethought the goals and scope of the Small Machine Talks in light of these challenges. Amanda Earl is a Canadian poet, prose writer, visual poet, editor and publisher who lives in Ottawa with her husband Charles.