Author Aparna Halpé

Aparna Halpé is Sri Lankan violinist, composer, poet, and scholar, living and working in Toronto, Canada. Her doctoral research is on the function of myth in contemporary postcolonial fiction. Aparna’s scholarly work has appeared in numerous scholarly journals, and she is the co-editor, with Michael Ondaatje, of Lakdhas Wikkramasinha (NYRB, 2023). Aparna is also the author of a collection of poems, Precarious (2013) and her creative writing has appeared in many journals including Postcolonial Text and Indialogs. Aparna is a professional tango violinist who performs regularly across North America and has toured with renowned ensembles such as Ensemble Hyperion. She was the composer in residence at the Toronto Heliconian Arts and Letters Club (2022-2023), and she is the founder and director of North America’s first all-woman, diversity-affirming tango ensemble, Solidaridad Tango. Several compositions by Aparna can be found on Solidaridad’s debut album, DISTANCIA (2023). Gaining critical acclaim around the world, DISTANCIA has been described as “an album that is without hesitation placed in the short list of the best albums of the decade” (Paris-Move, 2023).