Seventh Town of Ghosts by Faith Arkorful

“there is no 
country for this black girl
in tenderness   no nectar poured into my mouth
no rubbing of feet or head…” - Confession

Black History Month and the motion to recognize the contributions of Black Canadians was officially passed in Canada in 2008, over 400 years after the first people of African descent arrived in what is now Canada and less than 200 years after the practices of slavery were finally abolished in the Canadian colonies.

“…We are gathered here today to tell you. Our country holds
my head under the water. Our country is 
no different….” - No different

In my area of Ontario, it is not common knowledge among non-BIPOC residents that Black veterans of The War of 1812 settled here by about 1818, the year in which treaties were signed that allowed the British colonial government to grant land in recognition of military services. Military service was one exit route out of enslavement. More Black settlers arrived through the Underground Railroad and other means by about 1850, well before the white settlers whose names are prominent in local histories.

“…A black girl learns to worship herself very early. Tends her own burns.
To hide in the dark…” - Vacation

Faith Arkorful is a vibrant contemporary poet, born and raised in Toronto. What happened 200 years ago in my non-urban area of Ontario should have little to do with her. Except that she has a Black body, as did those early Black settlers. The racism that arrived in Canada with the first Europeans 400 years ago makes it necessary for her to remind herself, and her readers: “I am valuable because I am” (I Feel Betrayal in Every Plum Blossom).

“…All power to the people,
to the bump and grind, to my partner’s
laugh at a good joke
in the middle of the film. All power to
those who belong to the fury of togetherness,
which cradles everyone. …”  -Quiet Time

I am writing this review during Black History Month in Canada. I am not a woman of colour.

What little I know about what it means to be Black in Canada, I have learned in the reflection of the wavy, distorting mirror that is white privilege:

“I tried to explain the story and you said that if
the police don’t provide a reason for the stop then they
have done something illegal. You are telling me this means
I am allowed to walk away. I am trying to explain that
I have never seen a police officer struggle to find a reason.
You and I do not share the same rules…."  -No Different

Faith Arkorful’s powerful poems serve notice. To ancestral ghosts— canine and human, to the best and worst of present moments and to possible futures…

At a local flag-raising in my home community in honour of Black History Month, snow swirled around Dr. Farrel Anderson’s head. “What can one flag do, at a time when acts of racism are increasing around us?” he asked, addressing about 20 hardy local citizens. Seated in folding chairs in a semi-circle around him were some of our community’s Black elders, including descendants of the area’s earliest settlers. He looked at them first, then at the rest of us when he said, “It is important. It serves notice”.

“Did you know a ghost dog never stops
barking, even when you command 
it otherwise?” -Molosser

Faith Arkorful’s powerful poems serve notice. To ancestral ghosts— canine and human, to the best and worst of present moments and to possible futures, these poems offer humour, irony, despair, anger, joy, persistence, and strength for the journey. They refuse suppression, oppression, doubt and fear. This is a voice to listen to:

“I believe we are linked by a hum of the world.
The wind, the water, your sun.
The world is a good place.
I fumble through what I cannot
see. This is what carries me. It carries me always.

I refuse to believe this is all the world has to offer.
All things are humming below the surface.” - Linked

Faith Arkorful’s work has appeared in GUTS Magazine, Peach Magazine, PRISM International, Hobart Pulp, and Canthius Magazine, among other places. In 2022 she was a semi-finalist in the 92NY’s Discovery Poetry Contest. She received an honourable mention at the 2020 National Magazine Awards and in 2019 was shortlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize. Faith was born in Toronto, where she still resides.

Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (March 26, 2024)
Paperback: 8″ H x 6″ W x 1″ L | 104 pp
ISBN: 9780771004452

Susan Wismer

Susan is grateful to live on Treaty 18 territory at the southern shore of Manidoo-gitchigami (Georgian Bay) in Ontario, Canada with two human partners and a very large dog. Recent publications include a collaborative chapbook,Hand Shadowswith Michele Green and Suzette Sherman (Wintergreen Press, 2024). Hag Dancesis coming out with At Bay Press in Spring 2025.www.susanwismer.com