Blackening Canada: Diaspora, Race, Multiculturalism

251 Pages·2015·1.426 MB·English

by  Paul Barrett

BLACKENING CANADA
Diaspora, Race, Multiculturalism
Focusing on the work of black, diasporic writers in Canada, particular­
ly Dionne Brand, Austin Clarke, and Tessa McWatt, Blackening Canada
investigates the manner in which literature can transform conceptions
of nation and diaspora. Through a consideration of literary representa­
tion, public discourse, and the language of political protest, Paul Barrett
argues that Canadian multiculturalism uniquely enables black diaspor­
ic writers to transform national literature and identity. These writers
seize upon the ambiguities and tensions within Canadian discourses of
nation to rewrite the nation from their own perspective, transforming a
sense of exclusion into the impetus for their creative endeavours.
Within this context, Barrett suggests, debates over who counts as
Canadian, the limits of tolerance, and the breaking points of Canadian
multiculturalism serve not as signs of multiculturalism’s failure but as
proof of its vitality and of the unique challenges that black writing in
Canada poses to politics and the nation itself.
paul barrett is a Banting postdoctoral fellow in the Department of
English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University.
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Blackening Canada
Diaspora, Race, Multiculturalism
PAUL BARRETT

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 2015
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
Printed in the U.S.A.
isbn 978­1­4426­4770­1 (cloth)
isbn 978­1­4426­1576­2 (paper)
Printed on acid­free, 100% post­consumer recycled paper with vegetable­
based inks.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Barrett, Paul, 1979–, author
Blackening Canada : diaspora, race, multiculturalism / Paul Barrett.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978­1­4426­4770­1 (bound). isbn 978­1­4426­1576­2 (pbk.)
1. Canadian literature – Black Canadian authors – History and criticism.
2. African diaspora in literature. 3. Race in literature. 4. Multiculturalism
in literature. I. Title.
ps8089.5.b5b38 2015 c810.9'896071 c2015­900525­6
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts
Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to
Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support
of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for its
publishing activities.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Permissions ix
Introduction: Texts and Contexts of Blackening 3
1 Temporalities of Becoming in Dionne Brand’s thirsty 26
2 “I’m Running for My Life”: Mobility in Austin Clarke’s Recent
Fiction 65
3 Writing Life­Worlds: Canadian History and the Representation of
Albert Johnson 103
4 Race, Heritage, and Recognition in Tessa McWatt’s
Out of My Skin 143
5 Concluding 180
6 Re­Beginning: "Blah, Blah, Blah." Emergent Critical Multiculturalism
in Brampton, Ontario 190
Notes 201
Works Cited 219
Index 237
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Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge the support of the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council in funding this project. Thanks to
Katherine McKittrick for her diligent reading and criticism of this proj­
ect. Thanks also to Neil ten Kortenaar for his past and continued sup­
port. Thank you to Daniel Coleman for his support and encouragement
of my work. Siobhan McMenemy deserves particular thanks as she
valiantly and patiently helped me develop this book and never once
lost patience with this slow writer. Thank you also to my friends and col­
leagues in the Engineering Com munication Program at the University
of Toronto. My experience there has taught me the value of clear and
effective writing and has left an indelible mark on this project.
I would also like to acknowledge the help of my friends and family.
They have given me the necessary support, comfort, distraction, and
encouragement to see me through this project. Special thanks to Asha
Varadharajan for her support, friendship, encouragement, and prag­
matic optimism – she never lost hope when this work was at its most
baggy and monstrous! Particular thanks to Guybrush Taylor whose
design work helped make this book what it is but whose real contribu­
tion comes from letting me regularly draw on his wit, intelligence, and
creativity. To everyone in Heart Lake, Brampton, Toronto, Kingston,
Newcastle, and lots of other places, you have all helped me in various
capacities – thank you! Special thanks to Aimée, Alexis, Allan, Andrew
P, Andrew S, Anne­Marie, Breanne, Brooke, Drew, Emmy, Eric, Grace,
Jem, Martin, Matt, Nyron, Peter, Ryan, and Tim. I have debated parts
of this book with you all at various bars, cottages, logs, forests, hockey
games, trivia nights, and magic games. I often check the strength of my
arguments and my logic by proposing my ideas, in their most extreme
viii Acknowledgments
form, to one of you (after a few drinks, ideally). I couldn’t ask for a
better intellectual forum and better friends. Your friendship and sharp
intellects are invaluable and your insights echo in my head as I write.
Similarly, my family – Barretts, Dinsdales, and Keenans – in Canada
and overseas have been a huge source of support for me before and
throughout this project. Thanks to Tony, Rosemary, Patrick, Kathleen,
Michael, Francis, and Tina for their interest in my work and keen
questions and ideas that have found their way into this project. Special
thanks to my Mom, Lynda, Dad, Gavin, Kirsten, Jason, Emily, and
Kaitlyn for their endless love and support. There is no doubt that this
work had its genesis in the discussion, debate and laughter around
our family dinner table, so thank you for everything. Thank you also
for the experience of moving from one culture to another, for the plea­
sure and difficulty of living between cultures, and for the opportunity
to know the feeling of critical multiculturalism before I knew what to
call it. Particular thanks to Joan Dinsdale whose spirit of compassion,
decency, and critical thinking helped me write this book.
Finally, thanks to Susan for all her love and support throughout this
entire process. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend, troublemaker,
interlocutor, and life partner, and I definitely could not have perse­
vered without your continuous support and friendship. You helped me
when I asked for it and pushed when I needed it. You have challenged,
prompted, and questioned the arguments in the book during our long
walks and conversations. Your combination of critical analysis and chari­
table optimism has proven an excellent model for me to follow in writ­
ing this book. Thanks, Susan. Finally, thank you to young Patrick who
has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. I look forward
to all of our adventures together and I dedicate this book to Susan and
Patrick.
Permissions
Excerpts from Inventory by Dionne Brand. Copyright © 2006 Dionne
Brand. Reprinted by permission of McClelland & Stewart and The
Wylie Agency LLC.
Excerpts from A Map to the Door of No Return by Dionne Brand.
Copyright © 2001 Dionne Brand. Reprinted by permission of
Doubleday Canada and The Wylie Agency LLC.
Excerpts from thirsty by Dionne Brand. Copyright © 2002 Dionne
Brand. Reprinted by permission of McClelland & Stewart and
The Wylie Agency LLC.
Excerpt(s) from Is Massa Day Dead? Black Moods in the Caribbean by
Orde Coombs, copyright © 1974 by Doubleday, an imprint of
Random House LLC. Used by permission of Doubleday, an imprint
of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random
House LLC. All rights reserved.
Quotations from Austin Clarke’s works by permission of the Dundurn
Press and Austin Clarke.