Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dreaming of Elsewhere | 2014 | Esi Edugyan | Buy |
| 2 | Out of the Sun: On Art, Race, and the Future | 2021 | Esi Edugyan | Buy |
Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home (2014) collects personal essays in which Edugyan reflects on the idea of home, displacement, and the experience of growing up as a first-generation Canadian of Ghanaian descent. The book was published by the University of Alberta Press as part of their Henry Kreisel Memorial Lecture series.
Out of the Sun: On Art, Race, and the Future (2021) is the more substantial work. Based on her 2021 CBC Massey Lectures, the book examines Black histories through the lens of visual art, literature, film, and Edugyan’s own life. Across six chapters, she traces overlooked stories of Black people in the West, touches on Afrofuturism, and explores how storytelling has both erased and preserved the experiences of marginalized communities. Edugyan was the first Black woman to deliver the Massey Lecture, one of Canada’s most prominent public lecture series.