The Halifax Explosion: 8 December 1917 at 3:05 in the Morning
Written by Afua Cooper
Illustrated by Rebecca Bender
Published by Plumleaf Press
ACTIVITIES
To be added by November 1-15.
BOOK SYNOPSIS
The Halifax Explosion is a poem written by Halifax’s seventh poet laureate, Dr. Afua Cooper. It reveals dramatically what happened on 6 December 1917 at 9:05 when two ships carrying munitions and war supplies collided in the Halifax Harbour. The poem shows the tragic toll the resulting explosion and fire took on the residents of Halifax and the surrounding area, which stretched all the way north to Africville. Dr. Cooper commemorates the Halifax Explosion through verse and highlights the experiences of the Black Haligonians in this disaster. Her powerful words are magnified in this book with dramatic historical photographs and poignant art.
Poetry is movement, poetry is politics, it’s everything. It fires the imagination and so that excites me because in firing the imagination then we produce a new world. — Dr. Afua Cooper
AFUA COOPER
Afua Cooper is a scholar, author, poet, and artist. Her 13 books range across such genres as history, poetry, fiction, and children’s literature.
She was Halifax’s Poet Laureate for the 2018-2020 term. A celebrated poet, in 2020 Cooper was Awarded the Portia White Prize, Nova Scotia’s highest recognition for the arts. She is also the winner of the J.M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Award for her poetry.
An internationally recognized historian, Afua has won many awards and prizes for her work on slavery and freedom.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Website: www.afuacooper.com
Social Media: @afuacooper
Email: raetown27@gmail.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY
My Name is Phyllis Wheatley
My Name is Henry Bibb
Copper Woman
The Hanging of Angelique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal
The Underground Railroad: Next Stop Toronto!
Incantations and Utterances
We’re Rooted Here and They Can’t Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women’s History
Memories have Tongue
The Red Caterpillar on College Street
…and more!
REBECCA BENDER
Rebecca Bender has been stapling pages together since she was 4-years-old, creating books staring characters she spies on in her imagination. Today she is the author-illustrator of Giraffe and Bird, Don’t Laugh at Giraffe, Giraffe Meets Bird, Giraffe and Bird Together Again, How Do You Feel?, and Ballewiena. She has also illustrated an early chapter book series, Slug Days, Penguin Days, and Duck Days. When Rebecca is not painting or writing, she is working as a graphic designer and art director in the publishing industry. Rebecca loves animals, arts and crafts, hiking, swimming, cooking, and hanging out with her family. She lives in a lively house in Burlington, Ontario, with her husband, four children, and a creamsicle-coloured cat that sleeps through almost anything.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Website: www.rebeccabender.com
Instagram: @r_bender
Facebook: @LittleStreetStudio
Twitter / X: @LittleStRebecca
Youtube: @rebeccabender5993
Email: rebecca@littlestreetstudio.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning (Illustrations); Plumleaf Press, 2023
Ballewiena; Pajama Press, 2022
Duck Days (Illustrations); Pajama Press, 2020
Giraffe and Bird; Pajama Press, 2019, 2017 (First published 2010 by DCB)
Giraffe and Bird Together Again; Pajama Press, 2018
Penguin Days (Illustrations); Pajama Press, 2018
Slug Days (Illustrations); Pajama Press, 2017
How Do You Feel?; Pajama Press, 2016
Giraffe Meets Bird; Pajama Press, 2015
Peach Girl (Illustrations); Pajama Press, 2013
…and more!
