Watch award-winning novelists Edem Awumey and Blaise Ndala engage in a lively conversation, moderated by author Kalula Kalambay, on what it means to be Black in Canada today.
On February 11, 2021, during Black History Month, the Canadian Museum of History hosted a special virtual event featuring two award-winning authors. Sharing their perspectives on what it means to be Black in Canada, Edem Awumey and Blaise Ndala read excerpts of their works, and engaged in a lively discussion with moderator and author Kalula Kalambay about their experiences.
Edem Awumey is the author of five novels, including Port-Mélo (2006), which won the Grand prix littéraire d’Afrique noire. Descent into Night — the English-language version of his novel Explication de la nuit (2013) — won the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2018. Blaise Ndala has written three novels, Dans le ventre du Congo (2021), Sans capote ni kalachnikov (2019) and J’irai danser sur la tombe de Senghor (2014), which has been optioned for film.
Presented by TD
Photo:
Edem Awumey: © Jean-Marc Carisse
Blaise Ndala: © Pascale Castonguay