In Conversation with David Chariandy

On October 3rd, join us for a special evening as we create joy and IGNITE change. IGNITE Book Club presents critically acclaimed author David Chariandy for an evening of discussion and connection.

The first in an ongoing series of engagements with racialized authors at UBC’s Vancouver campus, Chariandy will share insights into his works and finding joy amidst his experience of living as a racialized individual, author, and academic.

Hosted by Dr. Minelle Mahtani, Senior Advisor to the Provost on Racialized Faculty, this is an opportunity to hear one of Canada’s leading authors reflect on his lived experiences and signature works, including Brother and his latest release, I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter To My Daughter.

With novels recognized as the book of the year by The Globe and Mail, The Guardian, and the National Post, Chariandy’s literary genius and expertise seeks to ignite joy and illuminate a discussion on critical issues facing racialized individuals and opportunities for systemic change.

Free but registration is required, as space is limited. Book signing to follow.

Dr. Chariandy teaches contemporary literature, and specializes in Black, Caribbean, and Canadian fiction. He also teaches creative writing. His first novel, entitled Soucouyant, was nominated for eleven literary awards, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award. His second novel entitled Brother won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the Toronto Book Award, and the Ethel Wilson Book Prize, and was named a book of the year by The Globe and Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, The New York City Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, Esquire Magazine, and The Guardian, among other periodicals and institutions. His latest work is of creative non-fiction entitled I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You: A Letter To My Daughter. David’s books have been published internationally and translated into several languages. He is a 2019 winner of Yale’s Windham-Campbell Prize for a body of fiction.

His scholarly criticism has been published in journals such as Callaloo, Transition Magazine, The Journal of West Indian Literature, Postcolonial Text, The Global South, and Topia, as well as in academic books such as The Routledge Companion to Caribbean Literature and The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Literature. He has co-edited three special issues of journals, most recently Transition Magazine 124 “Writing Black Canadas.”

Designed to open up space and stimulate dialogue and discussion around race and leadership, IGNITE is one of several key initiatives this year to recognize and embrace the diversity of our faculty community, and provide an intentional space for racialized faculty to share their experiences. The IGNITE Book Club has been designed with and for racialized faculty to allow for the exploration and discussion of memoirs written by renowned racialized authors.

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