Home » Alberta Books for Black History Month and Beyond

Share this post!

Alberta Books for Black History Month and Beyond

For Black History Month and beyond, check out these 6 Alberta-published books. Featuring a children’s book, several poetry collections, and more! Visit your local library or bookstore for more recommendations.

Many Mothers, Seven Skies by Cheryl Foggo et al

The Many Mothers Collective came together during the pandemic, hoping to make sense of the world they found themselves in. What evolved was their need to not only focus on the present moment, but on the world they will leave behind for their children and grandchildren—and for seven generations to come. In seven scenes for the stage, the diverse members of the collective explore the past, where they come from, and the future, where they are going, with a deep sense of hopefulness rooted in resistance.

Many Mothers, Seven Skies: Scenes for Tomorrow

Joan Crate , Cheryl Foggo , Linda Gaboriau

Published: Jul 01, 2023 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781990601521

Available as an accessible eBook

Phillis by Alison Clarke

In Phillis, author Alison Clarke reaches through time to tell the story of Phillis Wheatley, the first African American to publish a book of poetry. Through a series of poems and prose-poems, Clarke presents Wheatley’s world with depth and liveliness, reimagining the past for a modern audience while bringing sensibility and passion to the story of Wheatley’s life. Wheatley’s story is told in first-person poetry that illuminates significant chapters of her life, capturing the brilliant heights of her writing career along with the inevitable, brutal injustices she faced as an enslaved Black person in North America.

Phillis

Alison Clarke

Published: Oct 15, 2020 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773851358

Attic Rain by Samantha Jones

In Attic Rain, Calgary based poet and writer Samantha Jones puts obsessive-compulsive disorder centre stage. Lines and words repeat, write over themselves, and read top to bottom and back again, emphasizing themes of self-doubt, anxiety, and negotiation for control. Attic Rain is a love story nested inside an overarching narrative of self-compassion and awareness. It tours childhood and adulthood, lingering on settings and scenarios typically considered ordinary and unremarkable. The poems in this collection are part of an ongoing act of resilience and an honest account of moving through a world obsessed with normality.

Attic Rain

Samantha Jones

Published: Sep 01, 2024 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390986

WAKEWord by Wakefield Brewster

In this journey of self-expression and self exploration, Wakefield Brewster overcomes educational systems, addiction, and mental despair to deliver messages of hope, wellness, and pride in his blackness. In his own words, “In an odyssey of self awareness and societal association, I have crafted a deeper communion with the world around me.” In an anthem of hope and pride, one of Alberta’s most renowned spoken word performers inspires with messages of connection and overcoming.

WAKEWord

Wakefield Brewster

Published: Apr 15, 2024 by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781989466728

Howdy, I’m John Ware by Ayesha Clough, illus. by Hugh Rookwood

Howdy, I’m John Ware is an illustrated children’s book about Canada’s legendary Black cowboy, John Ware. Despite experiencing enslavement, war and discrimination, the gifted horseman lazed a trail of kindness, becoming one of Alberta’s most loved and respected pioneer ranchers. The story, ideal for ages 7-10, brings the real-life legend to a new generation of kids.

Howdy, I’m John Ware

Ayesha Clough

Published: Jun 01, 2020 by Red Barn Books
ISBN: 9781999108786

Toward an Anti-Racist Poetics by Wayde Compton

Toward an Anti-Racist Poetics seeks to dislodge the often unspoken white universalism that underpins literary production and reception today. In this personal and thoughtful book, award-winning author Wayde Compton explores how we might collectively develop a poetic approach that makes space for diversity by doing away with universalism in both lyric and avant-garde verse. Toward an Anti-Racist Poetics offers validation for poets of colour who do not work in dominant western forms, and is for all writers seeking to engage in anti-racist work.

Toward an Anti-Racist Poetics

Wayde Compton

Published: Feb 22, 2024 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772127430