Episode 035: The Water Dancer

Thanks for joining us. This month we are discussing The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her — but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.

So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the deep South to dangerously utopic movements in the North. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Black Classic Press (Paul Coates publishing house)

Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me trailer

Jesmyn Ward’s interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates in Vanity Fair (with photo of Coates at the Hungarian Pastry Shop)

Toni Morrison and Rememory (essay in The Guardian) : “Rememory as in recollecting and remembering as in reassembling the members of the body, the family, the population of the past.”

Controversy surrounding the biopic Harriet (2019)

Germans embrace fresh air to ward off coronavirus (The Guardian)

TELL US ABOUT ANOTHER BOOK I MIGHT LIKE

Trevor: Harriet Tubman: freedom seeker, freedom leader by Rosemary Sadlier

Kirsten: Toni Morrison’s Beloved

Dennis: The Underground Railroad Records by William Still – on Project Gutenberg here

NERD WORDS FOR WORD NERDS

Trevor: Déjà vu

Kirsten: Lüften

Dennis: Hiatus

Many thanks to everyone who got in touch with us this month. Remember to wash your hands frequently, limit your contacts, and STAY HOME if you are feeling sick.

Next month we’re talking about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

We’re looking forward to hearing what you think! Join our Facebook group, or follow Winnipeg Public Library on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Email us at wpl-podcast@winnipeg.ca with suggestions, comments, and questions. Visit us at wpl-podcast.winnipeg.ca.

Time to Read is a production of the Winnipeg Public Library. Our panel today included Kirsten Wurmann, Dennis Penner, and Trevor Lockhart.