Identity, Social Justice, and Fantasy in Beatrice and Croc Harry : The Ottawa Black Book Club Conversation with Lawrence Hill

Identity, Social Justice, and Fantasy in Beatrice and Croc Harry:The Ottawa Black Book Club Conversation with Lawrence Hill* Nduka Otiono and Olunosen Louisa Ibhaze Introduction When Lawrence Hill's Beatrice and Croc Harry—his first book for young readers in which he ventures into fantasy, drawing from the oral African storytelling patterns and ethics-was published in January 2022, it appeared as a perfect subject for the monthly book meetings of The Ottawa Black Book Club. Excited by the richness of the book, the Nigerian Canadian writer Olunosen Louisa Ibhaze quickly set in motion the process of hosting Hill as a special guest writer at the club's monthly meetings. It was not difficult getting members of the book club to agree with the choice of Hill and his refreshing new book for the August meeting. Established in 2019, The Ottawa Black Book Club is a collective of readers and writers interested in liberating the powers of books and engaging their authors in ways [End Page 443] that inspire deep reflections on the ideas that informed their writing. The Ottawa Black Book Club meets on the last Saturday of every month. Its objectives are to create a safe space for multicultural booklovers interested in melanating, decolonizing, and diversifying bookshelves, and also shaping African and black narratives through reading books by authors of African and black descent. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst that led to the book club going virtual and opening its doors to a global membership with its roots still in the city of Ottawa. The monthly meetings have offered a platform to have great conversations with authors who are happy to speak about the key issues and black experiences they write about. Held virtually on a summer afternoon in August, the conversation with Hill was lively. Participants explored issues of race and identity underlying Beatrice and Croc Harry, as well as its rootedness in Afrofuturism. The conversation afforded Hill the opportunity to shed light on his complex identity as a thinker writing the black Canadian story in a white background while focusing on identity, social justice, and fantasy in Beatrice and Croc Harry. Present that afternoon were the regular members of the book club, with a guest appearance by Nduka Otiono, co-author of this contribution. Hill's popularity with members of The Ottawa Black Book Club was driven in part by his rich oeuvre, which includes his acclaimed novel The Book of Negroes, published in 2007, at a point in his career when he felt he needed to intervene in black history. But more specifically, members of the book club were keen to hear from him about his exploration of identity, race, friendship, social justice, and colourism, amongst many other poignant themes in Beatrice and Croc Harry. Hill's background, dating to 1992, when he began his career as a novelist with the publication of Some Great Thing, also appealed to members of the book club. Some Great Thing follows the story of Mahatma Grafton, who, disillusioned after four years of college, goes back to his hometown of Winnipeg to work as a reporter for a local newspaper. His investigations bring him in contact with all kinds of people, from immigrants to activists, and he finds himself becoming deeply involved in civil rights movements, race, and social activism. The novel also dramatizes the intricacies of the inner workings of a newspaper's editorial desk. Some Great Thing is in many ways a roman-à-clef, with many autobiographical riffs on Hill's own life and family. Its structure is somewhat loose, but its themes are well-intentioned. Hill is no newcomer to activism. In 1979 he volunteered for Crossroads International, a Canadian organization that supports programs for women and girls. He has since volunteered in countries such as Niger, Cameroon, and Mali. In 2010, Hill founded the Aminata Fund, named after the main character of his most famous novel, which was put in place as part of Crossroads International's volunteer efforts in Africa. Hill's parents, American immigrants to the small town of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, were very visible in the Canadian black and mixed community of the 1960s and...

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