bienvenue!

I’ve been in Montreal for almost two weeks now and it has been wonderful so far. On Friday I turned in my UK visa application; my referees wrote incredible letters of support and I assembled all the required evidence, but I know it’s still a long shot. If I had to stay in Montreal a while longer, that wouldn’t be so bad. I’ve signed up for the free French classes offered by the Quebec government, and I’ve started the clock on my 90-day residency requirement in order to rejoin the Canadian healthcare system. One of my neighbors is an African American author I met in Illinois last year, and our neighborhood is walkable, full of shops and restaurants, near the subway, and close to some great parks. But the best thing about being in Montreal right now is that I was able to attend my niece’s graduation from McGill on Friday. I’ve been an absentee auntie for most of my nieces’ lives but their mom keeps me in the loop and I’m so proud of the young women they’ve become. Maya gave me some tips since she knows the city well, and so I now know about a lot of great festivals Montreal hosts in the summer. I took a walking tour last week and was surprised to learn that the Montreal flag has symbols to represent the French, English, Scottish, and Irish immigrants who settled on Native land. It’s very tempting to start researching Black history here in Quebec and I’ve already checked to see if Marie-Joseph Angelique had any kids (she did, but they died in infancy). But the new month starts tomorrow and that means I need to turn my attention back to the Ireland novel. I bought the history book that insists the enslaved girl from South Carolina was never sold, so I’ll start reading that tomorrow and go from there. I’m still writing a poem a day but will have to start writing in the style of Phillis Wheatley…

A Song for Juneteenth had its book birthday on the 19th. I’ve booked my flight to NYC so if you’re in or near Brooklyn on June 12th, please join us from 5:30-7:30pm at Greenlight Books! You can read or watch our interview with Rolling Out here.