Being Black

Following in the highly personal tradition of essayists such as Dionne Brand and bell hooks, Althea Prince culls thirty years of lived experience into an important new collection, Being Black. A writer and sociologist, Prince tackles the complacency she sees in some manifestations of Black Canadian culture - such as Toronto’s popular Caribana festival - as well as in white society’s attitudes towards Black culture, as revealed by Prince’s involvement with the notorious Writers’ Union of Canada-sponsored Writing Thru Race conference. With an introduction by well-known poet and media personality Clifton Joseph, Being Black will appeal both to readers with an interest in Black Canadian culture, and fans of Prince’s short fiction and children’s books. Praise for Being Black "[Prince’s] first collection of essays, Being Black, may win her the recognition she also merits for her short fiction volume, Ladies of the Night and Other Stories." - George Elliott Clarke, Halifax Chronicle Herald