The writer and 2019 Giller Prize winner Ian Williams discusses his new book, Disorientation: Being Black in the World (Random House Canada, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Disorientation: Being Black in the World by Ian Williams (Random House, 2021). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Disorientation

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Ian Williams joins me again. He’s just published a new work of non-fiction, Disorientation: Being Black in the World. It’s a thoughtful, profound book on race and racism. Mr. Williams talks about what drove him to write this book now, especially now when we’re all trying to have conversations about race. Using the word “disorientation,” he orients the reader to past experiences of being Black, and how some encounters cause racialised people to confront race when they don’t have to, like when one is minding their own business. One’s race comes into focus in these moments and the effect can be irritation or sometimes violence or even death. He provides examples, experiences other people have had with police, something we all saw come to the fore in 2020 with street protests not just in the United States but here in Canada as well. This book comes at a unique time, from one of the country’s unique voices. Ian Williams was born in Trinidad and raised in Canada. In 2019, he received the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his first novel Reproduction, which he appeared on this program with earlier that year. His short story collection Not Anyone’s Anything, his poetry collection Personals, and his first book You Know Who You Are, were all critically acclaimed and finalists and or the winner of major literary prizes. He was a professor of poetry in the Creative Writing program at the University of British Columbia for several years, and is now a tenured professor at the University of Toronto, where he received his Ph.D in English. @ianwillwrite is the Twitter handle, and his website is at www.ianwilliams.ca. This new book is published by Random House. We taped this interview in late September. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Ian Williams; Professor Williams, good morning.

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