Part exploration of a key group of Black Canadian poets, part literary, cultural, and musical history, Soundin' Canaan demonstrates how music in Black Canadian poetry is not solely aesthetic, but a form of social, ethical, and political expression. Soundin' Canaan refers to the code name often used for Canada during the Black migration to Canada. The book analyzes the contributions of key Black Canadian poets, including their poetic styles and their performances. The book has several key objectives, including recuperating the collision of the historical and the Biblically derived figure of Canaan, the promised land of freedom and security for an African American population seeking to leave the shackles of slavery behind and the northern terminus of the underground railroad. Centering around the poetry of George Elliott Clarke, Dionne Brand, M. NourbeSe Philip, Wayde Compton, and rapper K'naan, it delves into how these poets draw inspiration from African American and Afro-diasporic musical genres, such as blues, jazz, reggae and dub, hip-hop, and remix, to reshape the notions of identity and citizenship. Soundin' Canaan asks: what does Canadian citizenship sound like, especially when voiced by Black Canadian poets who embrace a fluid and multicultural form of citizenship that moves between local and global spaces, much like music does? Using a DJ Methodology, the author mixes in close readings of poetry, music, cultural and literary history, as well as various interviews with the poets. The book includes an accompanying soundtrack to further enhance the reading experience. Listening to the poets in this book-that is in listening closely to the poems, sounds, and musical samples they bring into the mix-constitutes "sonic citizenship." This co-performative act of reading, listening, and sounding serves as a reminder of how citizens inhabit and negotiate life in Canada beyond the formal legal framework of the nation-state. Paul db Watkins is a Professor of English at Vancouver Island University. He is also a research team member with the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI). He has published widely on multiculturalism, hip-hop, Canadian poetry, jazz, DJ culture, and improvisation. Under his DJ alias, DJ Techné, he has completed several DJ projects that explore the spaces between poetry, hip-hop, and jazz. Soundin' Canaan refers to the code name often used for Canada during the Black migration. The book focuses on intersections between music and poetry as border-crossing practices that expand how we think about citizenship. It demonstrates how music in Black Canadian poetry is a form of social, ethical, and political expression. Currently, there is a reckoning happening in this country around Canada’s historical and ongoing anti-Blackness. Soundin’ Canaan represents one of the first sustained studies of Black Canadian poetics and its relationship to music and so it should also appeal to readers outside poetry interested in Black politics. The multiculturalism framing will engage and spark some debate as this remains a hot topic. The inclusion of Indigenous sovereignty, immigrants, refugees, and Blackness within the framework of multiculturalism shows the author’s understanding of this complex debate, but it remains a topic that often stirs considerable conversation in Canada. One of the strengths of the book is that that the author offers musical examples, including accompanying Spotify and YouTube playlists to access the musical material while you read along. The poets in the book are well known within CanLit and so having first-hand interviews from them and detailed readings of their work will be helpful for students engaging with their work. In Soundin' Canaan: Black Canadian Poetry, Music, and Citizenship, Can-Lit-Crit scholar Paul db Watkins "brings da noise,"

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