The story\, even a fictionalised one\, is a historical record of identity and presence. Fr om Anansi stories\, to the writings of pioneering Black writers such as Lo uise Bennett\, Octavia Butler and Nalo Hopkinson\, Black storytellers pres erve memory and ritual alongside writing and protecting Black futures.&nbs p\;
\nJoin award-winning transdisciplinary artist Myrtle Sodhi and c hronicler of human stories\, Carol B. Duncan for an evening of sharing the ir fiction and folktales that span the distance and memory of the African Diaspora. Sodhi's debut book titled We've Been Here Before will b e featured and available for sale by Words Worth Books. Myrtle and Car ol will join Teneile Warren\, Textile&rsquo\;s Editorial Director\, in con versation on the meaning of Black stories to the making of Black life in C anada. \;
\nThis is a Black Talk Pre-Event. Textile&rsquo\;s second ann ual Black Talk features Nalo Hopkinson in conversation with Donna Nurse Ba iley on September 25\, 2026 at the Centre for International Governance Inn ovation (CIGI) in Waterloo. Textile is a hyper-local arts collective suppo rting writers and artists through mentorship\, publishing\, and curation.< /p>\n
Presented in partnership with Textile and Words Worth Books.
\nA stirring intergeneration al saga stretching from the Caribbean to Canada where womanhood and mother ing demands what the body wants to forget.
\nWoven together with fol klore and memory\, \;We've Been Here Before \;begins with the chil dhood stories of Lise-Rose\, who struggles with speech and coming of age i n a community anchored in both West African spirituality and the Catholic Church. Lise-Rose must choose either to follow the ancestral ways of her f ather\, who is spiritually bound to the sea\, or her mother\, who has root ed herself in Catholicism. The path of her life changes\, however\, after an encounter with a shape-shifting figure from the village. Like Lise-Rose 's ancestors\, her descendants struggle to honour ancestral knowledge whil e living on foreign lands. Margaux\, Lise-Rose's great-granddaughter\, emb arks on a new life with her mother in Canada. Facing racism and isolation\ , they attempt to establish roots in a country that seems both limitless a nd oppressive. Across generations\, Sodhi explores how a woman reclaims a connection to her stories and ancestors while forging her own voice.
\nMyrtle Sodhi is an award-winning transdisc iplinary artist-scholar whose work examines the racialized and gendered di mensions of labour\, wellbeing\, and care in educational and workplace con texts. Her research centers on Black women&rsquo\;s equity leadership and explores how arts-based methods such as rememory\, portraiture\, and story telling support activism and resistance within a framework of care. She is the founder of the Black Women Educators (BWE) collective\, a national ne twork advancing equity work across Canadian school systems through a Black feminist framework. Her novel\, We&rsquo\;ve Been Here Before (Dundurn\, 2026)\, extends her scholarly interest in storytelling\, voice reclamation \, and the labour experiences of Afro-Caribbean women.
\nCarol B. Duncan is a chronicler of h uman stories of migration\, community\, and identity. Her publications inc lude scholarly books and articles\, creative non-fiction\, and short stori es. She is a tenured full professor in the Department of Religion and Cult ure at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research focuses on Caribbean migra tion\, gender\, religion\, and popular culture\, as well as on Caribbean r eligions in diasporic and transnational contexts. She won the Region of Wa terloo&rsquo\;s Literary Award in 2002. Carol&rsquo\;s short stories have been published in Augur Magazine\, Tales and Feathers\, FIYAH Magazine\, P REE Magazine of Caribbean Writing\, and Apparition Magazine. Her next shor t story will appear in an upcoming issue of the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies.
\nTeneile Warren is a queer and nonbinary Jamaican playwright\, writer\, and communi ty advocate. Their work has been published in Briarpatch Magazine\, Barren Magazine\, ByBlacks.com\, CBC Parents and insidewaterloo. There experimen tal story Black Womg: Genderless was a 2025 One of A Kind Storytelling nom inee for the National Magazine Awards. They are alumni of the Obsidian Pla ywrights' Unit (2013)\, and they were the Artist-In-Residence at Buddies i n Bad Times (2016). Their work has been staged independently and as part o f various festivals across the country. They are also the Editorial Direct or of Textile\, an arts collective that supports emerging writers and arti sts in Waterloo Region\, particularly those from historically excluded and marginalized groups. Teneile&rsquo\;s art is a vehicle for social comment ary and activism. Teneile holds an MFA in Creative Writing from University of Guelph. For their community work\, Teneile has received the 2023 Black Excellence in Leadership Award\, the 2024 Waterloo Region Community Found ation Community Catalyst Award\, Black Excellence Award for Arts and Cultu re 2026\, and a King Charles Coronation Medal for their commitment to figh ting anti-Black racism. Teneile is a steering committee member of the Afri can\, Caribbean and Black Network of Waterloo Region and the Editorial Dir ector of the Textile Art Collective. They are the Equity and Inclusion Off icer for the Waterloo Region District School Board. They are an accomplish ed playwright\, chef\, and published writer. Teneile lives with their fami ly and believes in the magic of superheroes.
\nPhoto graphy Notice: Please note that photographs and videos may be tak en at this event and may be broadcast\, reproduced\, and/or made available in print or online. For individual or small group photos\, staff will mak e attendees aware of their presence and will ask permission before taking photos. \;
\nFor larger public events\, please note that by atte nding\, you are consenting to the use of your appearance\, image\, and voi ce in print or digital productions created by the Waterloo Public Library for promotional use only. Please speak to library staff at the event if yo u&rsquo\;d like to be excluded from any photo/video. \;
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