Biography & Autobiography African American & Black
Pourin’ Down Rain
A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West
- Publisher
- ECW Press
- Initial publish date
- Nov 2019
- Category
- African American & Black, Personal Memoirs, Discrimination & Race Relations
-
Downloadable audio file
- ISBN
- 9781773055268
- Publish Date
- Nov 2019
- List Price
- $25.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
The 30th anniversary edition of Cheryl Foggo’s landmark work about growing up Black on the Canadian prairies
Cheryl Foggo came of age during the 1960s in Calgary, a time when a Black family walking down the street still drew stares from everyone they passed. During her childhood, a community of extended family and friends, with roots in the Black migration of 1910 across the western provinces, worked together to provide intervals of respite from racism. But as an adolescent, Cheryl struggled to understand the negative attitudes towards Blackness she and her family encountered, and how she was made to feel an outsider in the only place she ever knew as home. As she explores her ancestry, what comes to light gives her the confidence to claim her rightful place in the Canadian west as a proud Black woman. This beautiful, moving work celebrates the Black experience and Black resiliency on the prairies.
Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country’s greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors.
About the authors
Cheryl Foggo is a multiple award-winning playwright, author and filmmaker, whose work over the last thirty years has focused on the lives of Western Canadians of African descent. Recent works include the release of her NFB feature documentary John Ware Reclaimed, available on nfb.ca, as well as the thirtieth anniversary edition of her book Pourin' Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. Her plays Heaven and John Ware Reclaimed have received multiple productions, including at The Citadel in Edmonton, Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary, at the Blyth Theatre Festival and in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre. Cheryl is the recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Outstanding Artist Award, the Doug and Lois Mitchell Outstanding Calgary Artist Award and the Arts, Media and Entertainment Award from the Calgary Black Chambers, all in 2021. She is a 2022 inductee into the Alberta Order of Excellence.
