February is Black History Month—a time to honour the stories and contributions of Black communities across the country and worldwide that too often face systemic erasure.
This month, we encourage all our readers to support your favourite local indie bookstore and check out their reading recommendations for Black History Month. Looking for even more books to explore for Black History and Black Futures Month? Here are some lists to get you started:
Anna Carries Water by Olive Senior, illustrated by Laura James (Tradewind Books)
Written by Commonwealth Prize-winning author and Poet Laureate of Jamaica Olive Senior, Anna Carries Water is a powerful story about determination and perseverance. Every day in Jamaica, Anna fetches water from the spring, but she can’t carry it on her head like her older brothers and sisters. Her strength of character helps her overcome this challenge and her own fears.
The Ocean’s Whistleblower: The Remarkable Life and Work of Daniel Pauly by David Grémillet (Greystone Books)
The New York Times has called Daniel Pauly “an iconoclastic fisheries scientist … who is so decidedly global in his life and outlook that he is nearly a man without a country.” Author David Grémillet has written Pauly’s first authorized biography, and shares the scientist’s extraordinary story, including his childhood in Paris after the Second World War, his escape to Germany, his political awakening in 1960s America, and his groundbreaking career as a trailblazing scientist.
On Account of Darkness: Shining Light on Race and Sport by Ian Kennedy (Tidewater Press)
A fascinating history of sports in Ontario’s multicultural Chatham-Kent region. On Account of Darkness combines thrilling victory stories with sports history and social commentary, resulting in a critical examination of systemic racism in North American sports.
Wayside Sang by Cecily Nicholson (Talonbooks)
Winner 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award for English-Language Poetry. Jacket2 has called Wayside Sang “border-erasing poetry … The history of racialized oppression is obviously complex enough on its own; work like Nicholson’s nevertheless sends us out to imagine both the deepest possible structures and extensions of human alienation, as well as the most personally affective forms such oppressions can take.”
When Morning Comes by Arushi Raina (Tradewind Books)
Set in South Africa in 1976, When Morning Comes combines the perspectives of four young Johannesburg residents living in its Black township, Soweto Zanele. The book explores the roots of the Soweto uprising and South African apartheid.
with/holding by Chantal Gibson (Caitlin Press)
A moving collection of poems that serve as a follow up to Gibson’s acclaimed debut collection, How She Read. These latest poems offer an insightful critique of the representation of Blackness in communication media and pop culture.
Our Friend Joe: The Joe Fortes Story by Lisa Anne Smith and Barbara Rogers (Ronsdale Press)
A fascinating biography of one of Vancouver’s most influential characters. Joe Fortes arrived to British Columbia in 1885 with little to his name. Soon, Fortes became a local legend, saving dozens of lives and teaching generations of Vancouver children how to swim during his time as a city lifeguard, swimming instructor, and special constable of English Bay beach.
Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi (Arsenal Pulp Press)
A finalist for last year’s CBC Canada Reads competition and a longlist finalist for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Ekwuyasi’s novel has been celebrated far and wide. This moving story chronicles the lives of three Nigerian women from different generations, exploring themes of queer love, friendship, faith, and family.
100 Days by Juliane Okot Bitek (University of Alberta Press)
A poetry collection dedicated to recording the lingering effects of the Rwandan genocide. The collection weaves together the Ugandan Acholi oral tradition of the poet’s father with Anglican hymns, sounds of the African American Spiritual tradition, and the beats of spoken word and hip-hop.
Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta (House of Anansi)
Longlisted for the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Frying Plantain is a moving novel set in “Little Jamaica.” The novel explores the tension between mothers and daughters, the experiences of second-generation immigrants, and expressing Black identity in a predominantly white society.