travelogue of the bereaved

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travelogue of the bereaved

These remarkable and challenging poems confront the notion of “home.” Closely attentive to form and content, narrative and emotion, history and the contemporary, and inspired by the techniques of jazz, travelogue of the bereaved tells stories that are little known–the lives of persons of African descent at different periods in the Americas. These stories speak to our times and their foundations, recreating figures such as Marie Josephe Angelique, Viola Desmond, John Brown, Maryann Shadd, and Mumia. Weaving between sections and using multiple forms, the collection exposes the transhistorical by linking each narrative to a more telling composition.

AUTHOR

Charles C Smith

charles c smith is a poet, playwright and performer. He studied poetry and drama at New York City University and Herbert Berghof Studios, and drama at the Frank Silvera’s Writers’ Workshop in Harlem. His play Last Days for the Desperate won an award from Black Theatre Canada. He has published four books of poetry, including Travelogue of the Bereaved (Mawenzi House), has edited several collections of poetry (including the works of Dionne Brand, Marlene Nourbese Phillips, Claire Harris, Cyril Dabydeen, Lillian Allen, George Elliott Clarke, Clifton Joseph), and his writings have appeared in numerous journals and magazines, including Poetry Canada Review, Quill & Quire, Descant, Dandelion, Fiddlehead, Anti-Racism in Education: Missing in Action (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives), Amethyst Review, Bywords, Canadian Ethnic Studies and others. He lives in Toronto.