Longlisted for the 2023 OCM Bocas Prizeamp160amp8226 Longlisted for the 2023 Raymond Souster Poetry Prizeamp160amp8226 A CBC Best Poetry Book of 2022amp160amp8226 Nominated for the 2023 ReLit Award for PoetrySaturated with locutions lifted from the late 19th century The DayBreakers deeply conceives of what African Canadian soldiers experienced before during and in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil Waramp34It is not wise to waste the life Against a stubborn will Yet would we die as some have done Beating a way for the rising sun wrote Arna Bontemps In The DayBreakers poet Michael Fraser imagines the selflessness of Black soldiers who fought for the Union during the American Civil War of whom hundreds were AfricanCanadian fighting for the freedom of their brethren and the dawning of a new day Brilliantly capturing the rhythms of their voices and the era in which they lived and fought Frasers The DayBreakers is an homage to their sacrifice and an unforgettable act of reclamation the restoration of a language and a powerful new perspective on Black history and experience
