Blood of Stone

In Kotli Petrichor, Tariq Malik revisits Kotli, the 1,000-year-old city of his formative years in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Marked by the traumas of dislocation and migration, the city and its inhabitants share secrets and longings, chronicled and imagined by Malik as he gives voice to a personal history that precedes his experiences as an immigrant in Canada, as portrayed in Exit Wounds. As the inhabitants of Kotli are forced to branch out in search of home, their stories expand to encompass the diaspora of Malik’ s fellow mohijar. Named for the earthy, familiar scent present after rainfall, Kotli Petrichor is a compelling, luminous celebration of people and place.

For the past four decades, Vancouver-based author Tariq Malik has worked across poetry, fiction, and visual arts, to distil immersive and compelling narratives that are always original and intriguing. Born in Pakistani Punjab, he came reluctantly late to Canada. His first book, Exit Wounds, was published by Caitlin Press in 2022.