In The Teller from the Tale, award winning author Ven Begamudré spins three stories in a masterful blend of myth and realism. In “Amar’s Gift,” a magical sculptor observes a princess, though it is forbidden for commoners to do so, and is determined to marry her. A father narrates a story called “Rainbow Knights” to his children every evening. Seven knights and their sister are offered to a fisherman and his wife, who have lost their only son to the god of the sea. The family travels to a bleak island cursed by a sorceress on their quest to rescue their missing child. “Sushila Is at Home,” is a mystical, powerful tale about a bio-mathematician who ponders the choices she has made in her life since leaving India for North America, as the gods lounge on her sofa and provide commentary. Part two is the delightful re-telling of an Indian folktale, about a young widow who tricks the God of the Dead into returning her husband.

Ven Begamudré was born in South India and immigrated to Canada with his family when he was six. Among his publications are a novel, Van de Graaff Days, a collection of poetry, The Lightness Which is Our World Seen from Afar, and a biography, Isaac Brock: Larger Than Life. His short-story collection Laterna Magika was a best book finalist in the Commonwealth Prize Canada-Caribbean division. Begamudré has completed numerous writer-in-residence appointments, most recently at Iowa State University. He lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.

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