Soundinā Canaan: Black Canadian Poetry, Music, and Citizenship has been named to the 2026 Canada Prizes shortlist, which recognizes ten outstanding books showcasing the range, originality, and impact of humanities and social sciences scholarship in Canada today.
Selected by the Academic Council from titles supported through the Federationās Scholarly Book Awards program, this yearās shortlist brings together works in English and French by both emerging and established scholars.
After a remixed reading of my book, I sat down for an on-stage interview with Wayde Compton. This was an incredible full circle moment, and audio (as well as a transcript) are now available as well.
Iāve also added a new remix to theĀ RemixĀ section: āKind of Blue in Green (for GEC),ā which reimagines Miles Davisās āBlue in Greenā and offers a poetic riff/reading of George Elliott Clarkeās āBluing Green.ā
Head over toĀ www.soundincanaan.comĀ to explore this new material and more from the book. If you donāt have a copy yet, you can grab one here ā and save 20% all April with the codeĀ POETRY2025.
There are three things I wanted to let you know about.
Iām pleased to announce a new website to support my book,Ā Soundinā Canaan: Black Canadian Poetry, Music, and Citizenship. Created for readers, listeners, courses, and research and discussion groups, the companion siteĀ soundincanaan.comĀ is designed to benefit both readers of the book and anyone interested in Black Canadian poetry, culture, and Black music. The site features audio and transcripts of interviews with poets from the book, as well as resources mentioned in the bookāincluding newly added materials of interest. Youāll also find playlists from the book (available on both Spotify and YouTube), a section of remixed audio, and additional media and news. An Open Access chapter is already available to read there.
OnĀ Friday, March 7, from 10ā11:30 a.m., Iāll be giving a performance/talk atĀ Malaspina TheatreĀ (located on VIUās Nanaimo campus). In my colloquium talk, I will combine sound (including a live DJ mix), images, material from the website, and text. Adopting a self-reflexive creative approach and cueing samples from interviews with the poets featured in my book, this presentation promises a captivating journey through the dynamic world of Black creativity in Canada.
Finally, I want to encourage you to come out to theĀ Victoria book launch, which will take place onĀ March 13 at Paul Phillips Hall (1928 Fernwood Road).Ā This event will feature one of my all-time favourite writersāand a major influence on the ideas in the bookāpoetĀ Wayde ComptonĀ (Performance Bond, The Outer Harbour, Toward an Anti-Racist Poetics). Doors open atĀ 6:30 p.m.
As always, thanks for the support. I hope you read the book and, especially, seek out the work of the fantastic poets featured in it.
On March 7, from 10ā11:30 a.m., Iāll be giving the final colloquium talk at VIU in the Malaspina Theatre. The talk will combine sound (including a live DJ mix), images, material from a new website to support the book, and text.
A second book launch will take place in Victoria on March 13 at Paul Phillips Hall (1928 Fernwood Road). This event will feature poet Wayde Compton (Performance Bond, The Outer Harbour, Toward an Anti-Racist Poetics). Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
šš š¦ššššā āššššš: š¹šššš āššššššš āš šš„š£šŖ, šš¦š¤šš, ššš āšš„šš«ššš¤ššš” is officially out! Seeing it in physical form is truly special. Music weaves through the book, and just in the Prelude, I reference Marvin Gayeās āWhatās Going On,ā Nina Simoneās āMississippi G**dam,ā and Oscar Petersonās āHymn to Freedom.ā Get your copy today!
A second launch will happen in Victoria on March 13th at Paul Phillips Hall (1928 Fernwood Road). This event will feature poet Wayde Compton (Performance Bond, The Outer Harbour, Toward an Anti-Racist Poetics). Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with an open mic at 7:00 p.m. Featured readings and an interview will start at 7:30 p.m.
Local folks: I hope to see you at one of the events! Also, for any local Nanaimo folk, you can grab a copy of the book from @windowseatbooks.
Iām thrilled to announce that my debut academic book, published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press, will be released on January 21, 2025! The Press is currently celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a sale, so you can preorder the book at 50% off until December 15 using the code WLUP50. (Canada and US only).
Using a DJ Methodology, I blend close readings of poetry, music, cultural and literary history, along with interviews with the poets featured in the book. It also includes an accompanying soundtrack of playlists to enhance your reading experience, and a website is forthcoming.
āSoundinā CanaanĀ is an imaginative, innovative, original, and immensely generative study of the relations that connect Canadian Black poetry to music, multiculturalism, social membership, and citizenship.ā āGeorge Lipsitz, University of California-Santa Barbara, author of The Danger Zone Is Everywhere (University of California Press, 2024)
“In Soundinā Canaan: Black Canadian Poetry, Music, and Citizenship, Can-Lit-Crit scholar Paul db Watkins ābrings da noise,ā reading through Afro-Can poets to stress that our concern is to remix, adapt, sample, and echo African Diasporic literary and musical greats in confraternity or confrontation with the Bards of the Great White Worldāand of the Great White North.
Hereās a list of šš šššš š”ššš£šššš¤ that make great double features! I cheat a little on the first by including three, butĀ Persona orĀ VertigoĀ both pair so well with Mulholland Drive.Ā
There are plenty of others I had in mind, but maybe thatās for another post. What would you include?
š„ ššš ššš¤š„:
1. Mulholland Drive (2001) and Vertigo (1958) or Persona (1966). David Lynch is a big Hitchcock fan, andĀ Mulholland DriveĀ feels likeĀ VertigoĀ on valium.
2. Cure (1997) and Memories of Murder (2003). If you likedĀ LonglegsĀ orĀ Zodiac, you need to see these two masterpieces.
3. Blade Runner (1982) and Metropolis (1927). The set design ofĀ Blade RunnerĀ draws heavily from this silent classic.
4. Moonlight (2016) and Beau Travail (1999). Toxic masculinity: chopped and screwed or served with the rhythm of the night.
5. Do the Right Thing (1989) and La Haine (1995). 24 hours of intensity x2 in this fitting double feature.
6. Parasite (2019) and Us (2019).Ā The HousemaidĀ (1960) is another great pairing forĀ Parasite, but both these 2019 films tackle class in complex ways and keep viewers on edge.
7. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) and In the Mood for Love (2000). Beautifully shot romantic films that know how to hold a moment.
8. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) and Andrei Rublev (1966). Two religious icons transcending time.
9. Stalker (1979) and Annihilation (2018). Both films are in āthe Zoneā of contemplative enjoyment.
āAttuned choice by attuned choice, your entire life is a form of self-expression. You exist as a creative being in a creative universe. A singular work of art.ā āRick Rubin
Dedications III (2024) completes the trilogy I started back in 2013. The album builds on the previous two, continuing to explore the space between poetry/words and music, and the intersections between jazz, hip-hop, and beyond. Additionally, there is a nod to film, with the cover serving as an homage to Saul Bassās iconic Vertigo poster. Vertigo is a film about mirroring and doubling, as well as obsessionāthe desire to create the perfect person, a meta-commentary on filmmaking and art, and the impossibility and danger of such an act.Ā
In large part, Dedications III is about the creative act, an extended homage to the act of being creative. Like the other projects, the album draws from various genres. If you listen closely, you will hear J Dilla, Sun Ra, Thelonious Monk, Ray Barretto, Dead Prez, Miles Davis, among a slew of other voices, sounds, samples, echoes, and cuts. The last two tracks look more outward, remixing Saul Williamsās āNot in Our Nameā and ending with a simple mashup of Zeinab Shaathās 1973 āThe Urgent Call of Palestineā with RefaatĀ Alareerās āIf I Must Die,ā as read by the legendary actor Brian Cox. Both Shaathās song and Alareerās poem changed something in me the first time I heard them, and the message in each remains as urgent as ever.
As with the other two projects, I played most of the drums on an MPC Live, and many of the samples are recorded directly from vinyl. Dedications is a close listening exercise: it is a portal to the past and the future.
The music is FREE and is a not-for-profit creative project (although you can donate to my musical praxis and future projects when downloading).
PAUL db WATKINS 