Happy Book Birthday to Oh Witness Dey! by Shani Mootoo
Today, we’re celebrating the release of Oh Witness Dey! by Shani Mootoo.
Happy Book Birthday to Oh Witness Dey! by celebrated author Shani Mootoo. Already named a “Most Anticipated” spring poetry title from Quill & Quire and 49th Shelf, Mootoo’s latest work has been generating a lot of pre-publication buzz. With this formally inventive and highly researched collection, Mootoo calls in the reader and herself to witness the vastness of history, forced migration, colonialism, displacement, and victimization present in these poems. The witness sees, hears, listens, and validates as Mootoo addresses a complex entanglement of histories and conflicting stories that are full of contradictions.
Shani Mootoo is also the author of many highly acclaimed and award-nominated books, including two other titles we had the great honour of publishing: Polar Vortex, a finalist for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and the poetry collection Cane | Fire. We’re also excited to share that we will publish her next novel, Starry, Starry Night. Stay tuned for more information to come about this stunning work.
Mootoo has shared this video to introduce readers to Oh Witness Dey! in anticipation of the book’s release:
Praise for Oh Witness Dey!
“Oh Witness Dey! fuses emotional momentum with discursive energy, which is underscored by carefully researched knowledge of colonial practices dating back to Columbus. The story of how Europe’s rapacity accelerated in the wake of ‘discovery’ is timely and inexhaustible, and these poems bear impassioned witness to a world that has raced past its precipice.”
—Kaie Kellough, Griffin Poetry Prize–winning author of Magnetic Equator
“A formidable, bold, and expansive collection of poetry that highlights Shani Mootoo’s aesthetic and intellectual prowess. Rich in luminous detail, Oh Witness Dey! is an unflinching exploration of colonial histories, one that opens up space for supple, nuanced insights.”
—Linda Morra, Writer/Host, Getting Lit With Linda
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That’s all for now, dear reader. Please join us again in wishing a very Happy Book Birthday to Oh Witness Dey! by Shani Mootoo. Available now from our online shop or from your local independent bookstore. Happy reading!
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