Perhaps reminiscent of NabokovsPale FireSearching for Serafimis a thoughtful unpacking of how we understand biography and what we bring from our own identities and positions in history to the investigative processRichmond News

This is a book of astounding artistry anchored in the rigorous and worldbuilding genealogy of the Black feminist radical tradition InSearching for SerafimDiaz honours the life and legacy not only of Serafim Fortes but of Black and Indigenous ancestors on these lands and daylights transnational struggles against empire and white supremacy over five centuries This mustread book skillfully weaves archives narrative and poetry while calling on us to imagine our lives and liberation anew Harsha Walia author ofBorder and Rule Global Migration Capitalism and the Rise of Racist Nationalism

The legacy of Serafim Fortes is immense and Ruby Smith Diaz is to be commended for bringing to light this multilayered history by documenting the crucial role Fortes played in early twentiethcentury Vancouvers development InSearching for SerafimDiaz places Fortes at the centre of Black BC history sharing his riveting transnational story and how he changed British Columbia Afua Cooper professor of Black and womens history University of Toronto

We have been waiting a century for this book for Ruby Smith Diaz to honour and appreciate Serafim Joe Fortes a man who carried a citys authoritarian affection on his shoulders Using diverse forms and modes of discourse from deeply researched biography to engaged personal narrative to lucid poetrySearching for Serafimis quite simply the single most important work on Fortes and a stunning contribution to the literature of Vancouver This is the book to remember him by and through which we might understand how Blackness can survive and resonate on these shores Wayde Compton author ofThe Outer Harbour

Gorgeously layered Ruby Smith DiazsSearching for Serafimdeftly interweaves the remarkable life of Serafim Fortes with a powerful interrogation of the conditions structuring Black diasporic life in Canada Robyn Maynard author ofPolicing Black Livesand coauthor ofRehearsals for Living

Searching for Serafimis an exquisitely written book about a figure both emblematic and enigmatic Ruby Smith Diaz powerfully illuminates both the necessity and limits of archival research recovering Black life from white celebration and critically reimagining a past that speaks to the urgencies of our present and future David Chariandy author ofBrotherandSoucouyant