How Decentering and the “DJ Methodology” Enhanced the Writing Process of Soundin’ Canaan
Sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Recorded on 10/15/2025
Posted in The Authority File
Episode 445
In the second episode of this four-part series, Paul db Watkins, author of Soundin’ Canaan: Black Canadian Poetry, Music, and Citizenship, expands on the writing process of his book. To start, he shares how he applied a “DJ Methodology” to the title. Highlighting the incorporation of different types of materials—close readings, author interviews, insights on cultural history—Paul discusses how this approach foregrounds Soundin’ Canaan’s through line of the intersections between poetry, musicality, and justice. In addition, Paul reflects on the process of decentering himself to write the book, and how that relates to white scholars writing about Black literature, art, and culture. As academia remains a primarily white institution, Paul explains that his role as an instructor is to amplify Black literature, build curiosity, and resist “absolute truth” in his research. In closing, Paul spotlights several poems from his book that combine aesthetic and rhetorical qualities, including Zong! by M. NourbeSe Philip.
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:
- Soundin’ Canaan Explores How Aesthetic and Rhetoric Intertwine in Black Canadian Poetry
- 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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