Words to move you

Inspired by reflective jogs, Christian Campbell releases his debut poetry collection

By Saada Branker

He’s a nomad with a keen eye, yet Christian Campbell jokes about being a J.C. in Toronto. “I am, as a family friend calls it, a ‘Just Come,’” he explains. This Bahamas-born poet, cultural critic and University of Toronto professor might have arrived only two years ago, but already he’s emerging as an artist to watch.

His first collection of poetry, Running The Dusk, appeals to a cross-section of people — those who enjoy the nuances of language and the fluidity of phrasing, particularly when used to describe how various cultures thrive (or fight to survive) in different countries.

Campbell’s poetic reflections from Running The Dusk joined this year’s Calabash International Literary Festival in Jamaica. By the time Campbell and an array of international wordsmiths arrived on the island in May, a state of emergency had been imposed on the country’s capital due to much-publicized violence, during which 73 people died and hundreds more were detained.

The upheaval was described as an assault on the slum stronghold Tivoli Gardens complex, which reportedly housed Christopher “Dudus” Coke, wanted for extradition to the U.S. on drug and gun-trafficking charges. But the Calabash festival continued on the island’s south coast. Its theme, “So Much Things to Say,” propelled creativity and sparked a heightened sense of unity, in light of the Tivoli Gardens events.

“Calabash is a space that cultivates spirit and imagination,” says Campbell, in a note to Sway. “It is in this kind of space that we can envision change and honour the human.”

Campbell visited Calabash three times before, but this was the first occasion he read from his book. “I dedicated my poem, Goodman’s Bay II, about ritual, death and commemoration to those we lost in Tivoli … those who had not received a proper burial.” He stresses it is important to “recreate rituals through which we can make peace with the dead.”

Campbell shared the festival limelight with some dynamos, including Nobel Literature Laureate, playwright and Nigerian poet Wole Soyinka and acclaimed American author Russell Banks. However, for Campbell, three people stood out: Calabash’s artistic director Kwame Dawes; programming director and co-founder Colin Channer; and production director Justine Henzell.“They created a certain kind of movement and an energy,” he says.

Dawes’ energy has even touched Campbell’s work. He’s the editor of Running The Dusk, which was influenced by the author’s daily runs in 2002 on a Nassau beach called Goodman’s Bay. At the time, Campbell was in transition. His grandfather had passed away, he had just returned from post-graduate studies at Duke University in the U.S. and was readying to attend Oxford as a Rhodes scholar.

Campbell realized he always ended up on the beach when the sun was setting. “Dusk is neither day nor night and it’s also, in many cultures, a sort of mystical time when other worlds are opened,” says Campbell. That spiritual experience provided the focus for his book.

Given Campbell’s affinity for the written word, it’s worth asking why he didn’t take the popular novel route to literary success. “We’ve seen this kind of emergence of poetry and a return to its oral roots with the spoken word scene [and] the relationship to hip-hop,” he explains.

“There’s something about the compression of lyrics … a kind of power. For me, it’s not only about ‘once upon a time’ and ‘the end.’ In terms of being able to speak the Black diasporic experience, I don’t know if linearity ever works.”

Campbell is gradually becoming familiar with Toronto’s poetry scene. But one thing he has noticed: “A troubling divide between a certain kind of literary establishment world, more connected with academia, and the spoken word scene,” he says. “It’s truthfully divided ethnically and culturally … I think there needs to be defined ways to create far more cross-fertilization between these multiple kinds of poetry scenes in Toronto and anywhere in the world.”

Running The Dusk by Christian Campbell is available at adifferentbooklist.com and amazon.com