Soundin’ Canaan Explores How Aesthetic and Rhetoric Intertwine in Black Canadian Poetry
Sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Recorded on 10/08/2025
Posted in The Authority File
Episode 444
This month we welcome Paul db Watkins, Professor of English at Vancouver Island University and author of Soundin’ Canaan: Black Canadian Poetry, Music, and Citizenship. His book looks at how Black Canadian poets are influenced by Black musical artists and song, and what this creative intersection reveals about multiculturalism and citizenship. In the next four episodes we discuss Paul’s research and writing process and the influence his work as a DJ had on his approach to the book. Further, we delve into the meaning of “sonic citizenship,” incorporating playlists and liner notes in an academic text, and the importance of decentering himself to write about Black literature, art, and culture.
In the first episode of this four-part series, Paul introduces us to the themes of Soundin’ Canaan. He first outlines the distinctive features of the aesthetic and rhetorical functions of poetry and music and how they intertwine and enhance one another. Next, he shares the background behind the book’s title, explaining the meaning of the term “Canaan” and how it connects to Black liberation and migration to Canada. Last, he reflects on the complexities of establishing a Black Canadian literary canon. While Paul acknowledges the value and significance of recognizing Black Canadian literary figures, he also resists the rigidity of canon formation, instead aiming “to draw attention to the power of Black voice and song in Canada.”
About the guest:
Paul db Watkins
Professor of English
Vancouver Island University
Paul db Watkins is a Professor of English at Vancouver Island University. He is also a research team member with the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI). He has published widely on multiculturalism, hip-hop, Canadian poetry, jazz, DJ culture, and improvisation. Under his DJ alias, DJ Techné, he has completed several DJ projects that explore the spaces between poetry, hip-hop, and jazz.
Enjoy the conversation? Listen to the rest of the series:
- How Decentering and the “DJ Methodology” Enhanced the Writing Process of Soundin’ Canaan
- Examining Sonic Citizenship, Remixing, and Multiculturalism in Soundin’ Canaan
- How Soundin’ Canaan Remixed Its Design, Launch, and Website
Check out our previous series with Wilfrid Laurier University Press:
– What the Implied Reader of Refugee Comics Tells Us about the Genre and Citizenship
– Talking Infrastructure, Education, and Canada and the Blackface Atlantic
– Podcasting in Academia: A critical look at its potential and discussing a new book, Podcast Studies
– Exploring Ecologies in Practice and Environmental Humanities
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