Our Canon

*tiptoes into the room* Yes, it's been a while! We're finally releasing the second part of our discussion of The Gilda Stories! In this episode we explore the connections between vampirism, Blackness, and positive escapism. Hope you enjoy this discussion...even though it's a year late. (This was recorded during summer 2021 so our references to the news may be dated and our views may changed since we recorded. Hope you enjoy our past selves!)

Welcome back, lovely listeners! We're switching up this time and making our way into the fantasy genre. Adwoa gets some education from the fantasy connoisseurs, Tiya and Thurston and talk about general impressions of the book.

To wrap up our conversation on Homegoing, we talk about the relationship of desire (non-romantic) and our culture as Black people. (And like an old flame, we revisit who we imagine Marcus to be in real life.) We also discuss what it means to be a part of the larger Black Diaspora. What is Blackness? Where do our stories begin and end as Black people?

In part two of our discussion of Homegoing, things get a little spicier as we talk about the importance of the relationship between family and memory and we see it show up in the family lines of Effia and Esi. And we even talk about our favorite romance and love stories! Yum. *Note: Trigger and content warning - discussion of sexual assault. Follow us at @ourcanonpod on IG | Email us at ourcanonpod@gmail.com

Aaaaand we're back....with our second book, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi! This book was published in 2016. For this series on Homegoing, we'll be releasing our episodes in three parts. In part one, we do a mini check-in, discuss the themes of faith and spirituality as well as the evils of white supremacy, racism, and colonization. Gross. We also may or may not have started our own imaginary cast if we were to make a film or show adaptation of this book. Follow us at @ourcanonpod on IG | Email us at ourcanonpod@gmail.com

Here is the last portion of our discussion of The Bluest Eye! In this episode, we talk about how this book aged, how we'd use our Negro Solstice powers to change the plot, therapy, and if this should be a show or movie. *Note: Trigger and content warning for racism and sexual assault. Follow us at @ourcanonpod on IG | Email us at ourcanonpod@gmail.com

Welcome to Our Canon! For our first book, we read and discussed The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. In part one, we talk about how we'd rate the books, our favorite and least characters, and notable quotes. *Note: Trigger and content warning for racism and sexual assault. Follow us at @ourcanonpod on IG | Email us at ourcanonpod@gmail.com

Welcome to Our Canon! Together, we read and discuss books from the Black canon that we “should” have read but, for many reasons, have not. (Don’t judge us.) This includes works by giants like Toni Morrison, W.E.B. Dubois, and Zora Neal Hurston. We also talk about more contemporary works from writers like Yaa Gyasi and Ta-Nehisi Coates, works that we think and hope will become a part of the ever-expanding Black literary canon. In this episode we describe ourselves as readers, major influences (positive or negative) on our relationship to reading, and our reason for being a part of the podcast. Enjoy! Follow us at @ourcanonpod on IG | Email us at ourcanonpod@gmail.com Music by @kamariafyffe on IG