How Decentering and the “DJ Methodology” Enhanced the Writing Process of Soundin’ Canaan

The Authority File

In the second episode of this four-part series, Paul db Watkins, author of Soundin’ Canaan: Black Canadian Poetry, Music, and Citizenship, expands on the writing process of his book. To start, he shares how he applied a “DJ Methodology” to the title. Highlighting the incorporation of different types of materials—close readings, author interviews, insights on cultural history—Paul discusses how this approach foregrounds Soundin’ Canaan’s through line of the intersections between poetry, musicality, and justice. In addition, Paul reflects on the process of decentering himself to write the book, and how that relates to white scholars writing about Black literature, art, and culture. As academia remains a primarily white institution, Paul explains that his role as an instructor is to amplify Black literature, build curiosity, and resist “absolute truth” in his research. In closing, Paul spotlights several poems from his book that combine aesthetic and rhetorical qualities, including Zong! by M. NourbeSe Philip.

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