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Even This Page Is White
Even This Page Is White | Vivek Shraya
46 posts | 37 read | 60 to read
Vivek Shraya's debut collection of poetry is a bold and timely interrogation of skinits origins, functions, and limitations. Poems that range in style from starkly concrete to limber break down the barriers that prevent understanding of what it means to be racialized. Shraya paints the face of everyday racism with words, rendering it visible, tangible and undeniable. Vivek Shraya is a writer, musician, and filmmaker whose previous books include "God Loves Hair "and "She of the Mountains." She lives in Toronto."
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TieDyeDude
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Pickpick

A pretty solid collection of poems and other writings. Deals a lot with race, hence the title. There is an odd secretion in the middle where he pivots to transcriptions of conversations he had with some friends. Overall, a decent read.

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sarahlandis
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pretty good

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Lindy
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54 likes2 comments
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xicanti
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#friyayintro time!

1. This is my #1 most recced book.
2. Avengers: Endgame a couple weeks ago. It actually left theatres before I got a chance to see it, but then one place brought it back! Yay! I love movies but I find it weirdly hard to make it to the cinema. I wish I still lived within quick walking distance of one.
3. Cherries!
4. Six first cousins; seventeen thousand other kinds of cousins.
5. On it.

Megabooks 🍒👍🏻 5y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk I know you made this post a long time ago but I just rewatched Endgame last night and I would loooooooooove to know your thoughts. 5y
xicanti @TobeyTheScavengerMonk overall, I enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun with the time travel angle and all the characters they brought back, and I thought they did a pretty good job of wrapping some things up while also hinting at storylines for the next Phase—BUT, I‘m pretty sure the ending doesn‘t actually WORK, seeing as how they killed Past Thanos before he could become Their Thanos. That seems like serious paradox material, unless I missed something 5y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Yeah, Nebula shooting her past self seems like it should have had some ramifications. The one moment I really needed and didn‘t get was Peter Quill having some reaction to being back on Earth. Other than that I was in awe at A.) how far superhero movies have come since X-men in 2000 and B.) how well all these diverse elements were transmuted into this one massive time travel space opera. 5y
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Bertha_Mason
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xicanti
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1. Manitoba

2. Xinran

3. 363 books, but it's gonna get a hell of a lot smaller this year

4. Outside

5. The tagged book is one of my autorecs. It's phenomenal.

#littenintro

suzisteffen @xicanti I got your tagged book out of the library in November, but I ran out of time. Will try again this month! Thank you for the reminder! 5y
tessavi Great plans for the TBR! I hope to read atleast 52 this year. 5y
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queerbookreader
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“...when you say don‘t play the race card you mean don‘t call me white.”

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nsol
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Pickpick

These poems strike many of the chords in my half-brown queer self. This is likely the best book I've read all year and I plan to keep many of the poems close to my heart. Also, Shraya gets major credit for donating some of the profits to a local indigenous center after pointing out that they (Shraya) are a colonizer themself, and also for hat-tipping the other amazing POC poets they read as inspiration before/while writing this.

Bibliogeekery Such a great book! 6y
prowlix I loved this collection 6y
nsol thanks, @Bibliogeekery for the tag! I gotta remember to do that so i can better find folks who read like me. thanks! 6y
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Jabberwocky
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I AM OFFICIALLY GOING TO BE PREFORMING A MONOLOGUE AT THE YYC COMING OUT SHOW IN MARCH! So now that I have ta actually write this monologue about my queer experience I am seeking guidance from one of my favourite queer authors, Vivek Shraya. I‘ve seen her perform, and she actually signed and dedicated this book to me. She was amazing, and I‘m hoping that her words inspire me. #poetry #transbooks #queerbooks #canadian

Birdsong28 Good luck 🍀🍀🍀🍀📚📖 6y
JSW You‘re going to smash it!!!! 6y
Kalalalatja You go! All the luck to you 👏🤞👏 6y
See All 9 Comments
Bibliogeekery Amazing! Best of luck! 6y
TrishB Good luck 👍🏻😁👏🏻 6y
DivaDiane I‘m sure you wow them!! Break a leg! 6y
GrilledCheeseSamurai Woohoo! Awesome. Best of luck! 🙌 6y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk You‘re going to be awesome! 6y
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skyeharmony
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Pickpick

Insightful words about race, queerness, and identity. A great read. #queerbooks #transbooks

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Bibliogeekery
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I‘ve heard the author read many of these poems at events but it was so great to finally sit down and read this powerful collection altogether. These sparse, beautifully written poems offer insightful commentary on race and racism. #transbooks

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prowlix
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Pickpick

This slim poetry collection covers so many things I'm blown away. Gender, race, white privilege, sexuality and identity. These poems made me uncomfortable but that was very much the point. I can't recommend this collection enough and I'm hoping to pick up some of her prior work soon. All the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

#poetry #transbooks #wndb

Lindy I agree! 👯‍♂️ 6y
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prowlix
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prowlix
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prowlix
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My recent #libraryhaul is perfect for today's #riotgram - I had a goal to read more #poetry this year and still need to do better. Hopefully seeing everyone's posts today will help!

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xicanti
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1. My 4th pic is Ollie, of course. Little dude's too cute not to photograph.
2. I recommend EVEN THIS PAGE IS WHITE by Vivek Shraya to everyone.
3. Gonna be around 28 today. Hurray for heat!
4. I'm currently reading THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE and MAKING A SCENE: LESBIANS AND COMMUNITY ACROSS CANADA, 1964-84. Plus the usual X-Men comics.
5. I'd love to try out a new trail I discovered a couple weeks back.

#humpdaypost (a day late)

readordierachel Cat's got the right idea 😻 7y
AlaMich Awww!! 😻😻 7y
Allkat Nice napper.😃 7y
19 likes3 comments
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BooksForYears
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#JubilantJuly Day 31 - Best of July

Y'all. I had the most prolific reading month in July - a total of 24 books! These 6 were my faves:
•NOTHING MORE TO LOSE by Najwan Darwish (poetry)
•SUCH SMALL HANDS by Andrés Barba (novella)
•EVEN THIS PAGE IS WHITE by Vivek Shraya (poetry)
•THE NAKANO THRIFT SHOP by Hiromi Kawakami (novel)
•THE ABRIDGED HISTORY OF RAINFALL by Jay Hopler (poetry)
•MY MOTHER WAS A FREEDOM FIGHTER by Aja Monet (poetry)

Mamashep Wow! 24? That's amazing! 7y
Lesliereads My Mother Was A Freedom Fighter is waiting for me in my nightstand.... 7y
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Joannananamc
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This poem made me emotional. It feels so familiar. These questions and thoughts run through my head most days. Thank you, Vivek Shraya, for putting words to this feeling.

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Joannananamc
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This book is 🔥🔥🔥

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BookishFeminist
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Pickpick

Is social justice poetry a thing? If not, it should be. Shraya writes really simplistic, candid poems about race, sexuality, and colonialism. I'll be devouring the rest of her work now. There's an honesty here that reminds me of Rupi Kaur, but Shraya has a different style. There's incisive commentary in here about whiteness and how POC can contribute to anti-Black racism and encourage settler oppression against Indigenous people. Highly recommend.

ReadingEnvy I really liked this .. of similar themes but different approach (if you haven't seen it yet) is 7y
WordWaller This has been on my Kindle waiting for me for so long. 7y
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BeccasBookshelf
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Pickpick

This collection of poetry was fantastic and you should check it out!

#bbsjunechallenge

8 likes1 comment
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ReadingEnvy
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Reading Envy Podcast 089: Hodgepodge! Jenny had to postpone some guests so this is a solo episode. One round of book speed-dating, bookish beach adventures, and 5-star reads that haven't made it into the podcast yet. http://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy089

Joanne1 Sounds good. 7y
Betty_Bookworm I just have to say, I really love your podcast. There are several that I listen to and I always look forward to yours! 7y
ReadingEnvy @Betty_Bookworm thank you for listening!! 7y
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LeahBergen Sounds awesome (as usual). ❤️ 7y
andrew61 I really enjoyed listening this morning jenny, some great recommendations and i especially liked your Icelandic pronunciations - i struggle with them as well 😀 7y
ReadingEnvy @andrew61 ha! Wait until I talk about 7y
77 likes6 comments
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WOCreads
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Loving my current read: Even This Page is White by Vivek Shraya ✊💜

#diversebooks #qtwoc #poetry

Bibliogeekery Beautiful picture! #transbooks 7y
WOCreads @Bibliogeekery Thanks!💜 7y
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xicanti
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Pickpick

Wow. I opened this last night intending to read maybe two or three poems so I could get a feel for it, and I ended up devouring the whole thing in one sitting. This personal and powerful dive into racism belongs on every Canadian's reading list. #canada150 #pridemonth #queerbooks

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xicanti
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Then it began to rain, so I took to my bed with a pile of poorly lit books. #fridaynightdoneright

readordierachel Sounds like a perfect evening! 7y
xicanti @ReadOrDieRachel it was pretty great. 7y
12 likes2 comments
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xicanti
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My library's Pride display. I borrowed EVEN THIS PAGE IS WHITE by Canadian poet Vivek Shraya. #pridemonth #canada150 #junebookbugs

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Bibliogeekery
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❤️

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dixi_e
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Stop 24: skeptic - I love short poems where simplicity belies depth. #LitsyPoetry365

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dixi_e
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April 22: amiskwacîwâskahikan -I've always been fascinated with the power of naming and as a teacher I feel strongly that every person's name should be pronounced correctly; anything less suggests an unworthiness of that person's being. #LitsyPoetry365

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dixi_e
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April 21: cycle of violence - That last line... #LitsyPoetry365

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dixi_e
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April 20: a lover's bookshelf #LitsyPoetry365

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TheBrockUEnglishMajor
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Pickpick

I read Even This Page Is White not long after reading #Citizen by #ClaudiaRankine. These two books are perfect to pair with each other, as they both participate in the larger conversation of the psychological trauma of racism in Canada and the United States. Shraya's verses, like Rankine's, are accessible yet experimental in form and style. ETPIW also experiments with multi media poetry in exciting ways. Overall, one of the best reads of 2016.

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Erin01
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa This one is on my to read list, hopefully I can get to it next month. 7y
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NotYourHandmaid
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A dog named lavender

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CaitTheCurst
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so i climb dodge boulders
earn blisters but even
the top of the mountain
is white

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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Revisiting this beautiful, important poetry collection about race/racism while eating Christmas dinner leftovers for lunch! #TransBooks #QueerBooks

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jessreads020
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Pickpick

I normally say there's a book for every reader, and to each their own reading preference. This book is a must-read for EVERYONE.

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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Pickpick

Holy shit, a powerful and beautiful book, both in terms of its content about racism and its craft playing with poetic forms and structure. A book to read again and again. Very accessible for non-poetry types and very real. Highly recommended. #QueerBooks #WeNeedDiverseBooks #TransBooks

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Lindy
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Pickpick

Autobiographical poems open our eyes to a multidimensional viewpoint from the margins of Canadian society: brown, bisexual, transgender, Hindu. Tenderness, honesty, pain, rage. Brilliant work.
#queerbooks #diversereads

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Lindy
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under the pink

if i could tunnel back / through time aggression / dead skin cells
i would guard / all my softness
my tender places / like my life
depended on it / so that when
i grew up / i wouldn't feel
i had lost
everything.

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Lindy
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vishvarupa

you will never grasp
clasp my power
voltage to resist persist coexist
shapeshift conductor for your spark
my skin is brown
to caution you of my fire.

[image: detail from painting by Vidya Devi & Dhirendra Jha.]

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Lindy
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White space is used effectively in this poetry collection. The top half is blank on most pages. (The poem above is incomplete; I just captured the first part in this photo.)

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Lindy
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people who said 'racism' were whiny or lazy and i was neither

but there's no worth for my work no toll for my toil
when you hold the cards keys gavels

unravelled, brown is not a barrier you are
and when you say 'don't play the race card'

you mean 'don't call me white.'

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Adding that book! Excellent quote! 7y
Lindy @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Broke_Girl_Reads Vivek's work is fierce and personal. I've known Vivek since she was a teen, working as a student page at the library where I also worked. 7y
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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White folks, now's about time to be educating yourself about racism and the perspectives of people of colour. Vivek Shraya's accessible, beautiful poetry collection is a good place to start. #ReadingWithoutWalls

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Vikz
Pickpick

Experimental, challenging, moving, lyrical, mind blowing, thought provoking, brain altering, brilliant ~everybody should take the enjoyable challenge of this book

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Chasingmermaids
Mehso-so

I had a lot of hopes for this book but I felt like it didn't flow right. Something felt missing. Maybe if I had been there some of poems would have made more sense. ⭐️⭐️