This essay examines water mythologies and relationships in Haisla writer Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach (2000) and Trinidadian Canadian writer Dionne Brand’s A Map to the Door of No Return (2001). I consider these texts together because they do comparable work in considering how the water offers anti-colonial alternatives for place-making and comparably write water as a site of belonging without claiming. When Brand and Lisamarie dip their hands in the water to pay respect to Yemayá (Brand 172) or the Kitlope River (Robinson 112), they distance the practice of place-making from the confines of a colonial claiming. I argue then that considering how water fosters place-making in these texts can generate thinking that surpasses colonial creations and capturings of space and highlights forms of belonging that have existed outside of these restrictions.
To read the full article online, visit our OJS site.
Please note that works on the Canadian Literature website may not be the final versions as they appear in the journal, as additional editing may take place between the web and print versions. If you are quoting reviews, articles, and/or poems from the Canadian Literature website, please indicate the date of access.