The Biblio File
January 31, 2022
During Black History Month, people in Canada celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities who, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate, and prosperous nation it is today.
Even though Black people and their communities have always been a part of shaping Canada’s heritage and identity, Black history in Canada has not always been celebrated or highlighted.
Canadians are not always aware of the fact that Black people were once enslaved in the territory that is now Canada or how those who fought enslavement helped to lay the foundation of the diverse and inclusive society in Canada.
Black History Month is about honouring the enormous contributions that Black people have made, and continue to make, in all sectors of society. It is about celebrating resilience, innovation, and determination to work towards a more inclusive and diverse Canada—a Canada in which everyone has every opportunity to flourish.
After taking most of the winter off – or hibernating perhaps – the Library Ghost has reappeared and chosen Brightness Falls by Jay McInerney.
“Russell and Corrine Calloway, in their early thirties, are a miracle of modern urban life. Russell is an editor, the golden boy of a distinguished publishing company, and Corrine has been swept by the zeitgeist onto Wall Street. Together they are blessed and, for their large and varied circle of friends, a rare example of marital perfection. For them, it seems, everything is possible. But in an age of gross expectations – Manhattan in the eighties – anything can happen. Childhood demons and unfulfilled ideals plague Corrine, while Russell feels his good fortune slipping away. And when he embarks on a wildly ambitious scheme to seize control of the publishing house, cracks emerge in the marriage that reverberate throughout their lives. Yet for Jeff Pierce – their oldest and closest friend, whose first book made his career and whose self-destructiveness now threatens it – none of this dissolution is news.”