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The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology
The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology recovers a new regional archive of “black prairie” literature, and includes writing that ranges from work by nineteenth-century black fur traders and pioneers, all of it published here for the first time, to contemporary writing of the twenty-first century.
This anthology establishes a new black prairie literary tradition and transforms inherited understandings of what prairie literature looks and sounds like. It collects varied and unique work by writers who were both conscious and unconscious of themselves as black writers or as “prairie” people. Their letters, recipes, oral literature, autobiographies, rap, and poetry- provide vivid glimpses into the reality of their lived experiences and give meaning to them.
The book includes introductory notes for each writer in non-specialist language, and notes to assist readers in their engagement with the literature. This archive and its supporting text offer new scholarly and pedagogical possibilities by expanding the nation’s and the region’s archives. They enrich our understanding of black Canada by bringing to light the prairies' black histories, cultures, and presences.
This anthology establishes a new black prairie literary tradition and transforms inherited understandings of what prairie literature looks and sounds like. It collects varied and unique work by writers who were both conscious and unconscious of themselves as black writers or as “prairie” people. Their letters, recipes, oral literature, autobiographies, rap, and poetry- provide vivid glimpses into the reality of their lived experiences and give meaning to them.
The book includes introductory notes for each writer in non-specialist language, and notes to assist readers in their engagement with the literature. This archive and its supporting text offer new scholarly and pedagogical possibilities by expanding the nation’s and the region’s archives. They enrich our understanding of black Canada by bringing to light the prairies' black histories, cultures, and presences.
- GenresCanadaAnthologies
594 pages, Paperback
Published February 19, 2020
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119 people want to read
About the author
Karina Vernon
3 books1 followerKarina Vernon is an associate professor of English at the University of Toronto, where her teaching and research focus on black Canadian literature, archives, and decolonization.
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November 15, 2020This is an incredible collection of writing, an introduction to a little known, undiscovered, and revelatory history of a peoples’ (or just people’s) migration and refuge from oppressive elsewheres.
Central to this collection of writings is the historic fact that, in the 1800s, Canada desired to populate its western provinces. Canadian agents traveled through the neighboring United States promising land for little cost. These solicitations coincided with the US Civil War, the Statehood of Oklahoma, (Oklahoma as a territory was more racially equitable than Oklahoma as a State), and the US populations’ settlement of the West. Many Free Blacks and Freed Slaves moved to Canada. So many, in fact, that Canada, in its own prejudice, passed a law forbidding African-Americans to settle, claiming the cold weather would be too much for them. The law was removed after two years, when the conservative government was voted out of office.
This book is an account of the rich literary heritage of Canadians from the Western provinces who are Black. The story of the people indigenous to these lands and how their lives changed as settlers moved in, is not told here.
Many of the stories, plays, and poetry included here describe and address the “otherness” of the writers in Albertan, Saskatchewan, or Manitoban society even if the writer may be multiple generations Canadian.
While the readings here confront the persistance of humanity’s “othering”, humanity’s inhumanity to others, it recounts the relentless insistence of the “other” and their claim to equal status. While any account of prejudice and resistance to oppression needs to be told, the stories here, given the history of the Canadian west, have a particular resonance.
The Black Prairie Archives reads well with an mobile device at hand. Google searches for Amber Valley, John Ware, and later in the anthology, the rappers, musicians, and poets, provide multimedia richness to the literature presented on the page. There is still much to explore.
There is so much here in this volume, so much that I was given to discover. Linus Tongwo Asong resonated with me, and Wakefield Brewster. It was rewarding to read an excerpt of Esi Edugyan while “Washington Black” awaits a later reading. The internet gives me access to the music of Nestor Wynrush, Frank Fontaine and others while I wait for The Vaccine that will allow me to once again peruse Montreal bookstores where I might find the poetry of Títílópé Sónúgà and some of the other anthologies of Canadian writing mentioned in the text.
While editor Karina Vernon has assembled a selection that highlights both the settler and the immigrant experience, there is a strong sense of belonging in the writings. The depth and breadth of the selections is admirable. The final piece by Miranda Martini serves as a profound conclusion. Fitting, not just in the chronological order of the anthology, but uniting the themes, as well.
Central to this collection of writings is the historic fact that, in the 1800s, Canada desired to populate its western provinces. Canadian agents traveled through the neighboring United States promising land for little cost. These solicitations coincided with the US Civil War, the Statehood of Oklahoma, (Oklahoma as a territory was more racially equitable than Oklahoma as a State), and the US populations’ settlement of the West. Many Free Blacks and Freed Slaves moved to Canada. So many, in fact, that Canada, in its own prejudice, passed a law forbidding African-Americans to settle, claiming the cold weather would be too much for them. The law was removed after two years, when the conservative government was voted out of office.
This book is an account of the rich literary heritage of Canadians from the Western provinces who are Black. The story of the people indigenous to these lands and how their lives changed as settlers moved in, is not told here.
Many of the stories, plays, and poetry included here describe and address the “otherness” of the writers in Albertan, Saskatchewan, or Manitoban society even if the writer may be multiple generations Canadian.
While the readings here confront the persistance of humanity’s “othering”, humanity’s inhumanity to others, it recounts the relentless insistence of the “other” and their claim to equal status. While any account of prejudice and resistance to oppression needs to be told, the stories here, given the history of the Canadian west, have a particular resonance.
The Black Prairie Archives reads well with an mobile device at hand. Google searches for Amber Valley, John Ware, and later in the anthology, the rappers, musicians, and poets, provide multimedia richness to the literature presented on the page. There is still much to explore.
There is so much here in this volume, so much that I was given to discover. Linus Tongwo Asong resonated with me, and Wakefield Brewster. It was rewarding to read an excerpt of Esi Edugyan while “Washington Black” awaits a later reading. The internet gives me access to the music of Nestor Wynrush, Frank Fontaine and others while I wait for The Vaccine that will allow me to once again peruse Montreal bookstores where I might find the poetry of Títílópé Sónúgà and some of the other anthologies of Canadian writing mentioned in the text.
While editor Karina Vernon has assembled a selection that highlights both the settler and the immigrant experience, there is a strong sense of belonging in the writings. The depth and breadth of the selections is admirable. The final piece by Miranda Martini serves as a profound conclusion. Fitting, not just in the chronological order of the anthology, but uniting the themes, as well.
December 7, 2021
I live in an Alberta community that was originally settled by Black pioneers, and sit on the board of our local museum that focuses on telling this story, so I thought I should read this recent addition to the Black prairie canon. The introduction is pretty academic, so I wondered what I was getting myself into, but what followed was a wonderful collection of writings. Like all anthologies, the range of material is broad, and some of it did not appeal to me. I admit that I did not read all of it. Poetry makes my eyes glaze over, and if a piece did not grab my attention early on I did not continue with it. Unsurprisingly, the earlier, more historical pieces were my favorite. I am, after all, a history nerd. I am surprised at some of what was included and not included. Some of the writers seemed to have pretty tenuous connections to the prairies, and other writers that I felt should be included were not...no Bashir Mohamed??
January 23, 2025
Very good to experience this compilation.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews