Review: Sylvia D. Hamilton’s And I Alone Escaped to Tell You

Sylvia D. Hamilton’s And I Alone Escaped to Tell You stuns readers with its beautiful poetry and staggering content. It examines the atrocities faced by early Black Nova Scotians, and the systemic racism and oppression still prevalent today. With strong diction, powerful imagery and an array of poetic forms, And I Alone Escaped to Tell You is a true work of art. Hamilton’s breath-taking intertwining of poetry and historical fact inspires the desire to change amongst her readership, providing an education that motivates atonement.

And I Alone Escaped to Tell You reveals deliberate attempts to frame Canada as a safe haven from slavery, typified by the narrative of the underground railway. Peggy Bristow states “this kind of denial is pervasive throughout Canadian society and continues to present impediments to the development of an African Canadian historiography.” Hamilton’s poems demonstrate that the ‘true north strong and free’ was in fact a slave society that engaged in the selling and trading of African peoples as property, and creates a voice for African Canadians who have had their struggles concealed for generations. For example, she includes, verbatim the following newspaper ad: “On Saturday next, at twelve o’clock, will be sold on the Halifax Beach, two hogshead of rum, three of sugar and two well-grown Negro girls, aged fourteen and twelve, to the highest bidder” (14).

Hamilton interweaves themes of history and memory, grounding overlooked archival material in her poetry. Similar to Shalan Joudry’s Generations Re-Merging, Hamilton tells the story of peoples forcibly ripped from their previous ways of life, and abused by colonial powers. Hamilton educates her readership and evokes emotion through her words:

We had our own names

a past a present.

We worked we loved.

Sang songs to the wind

prayed to our Gods.

We did not know the future

would not be ours (9)

And I Alone Escaped to Tell You exposes readers to uncomfortable truths, offering a narrative that is thought provoking, emotional, and rarely taught in public schools. Sylvia D. Hamilton has made it her life’s work to provide an honest historiography for African Canadians through filmmaking, visual arts, and, with this volume, published poetry. Hamilton’s work is painfully beautiful and truly productive.

Works Cited

Bristow, Peggy, et al. Introduction. We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History. By Bristow. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994. 3-12. Print.

Hamilton, Sylvia. And I Alone Escaped to Tell You. Kentville: Gaspereau Press, 2014. Print.

--by Benjamin Lord, with input from Monica Grasse, Sharisse LeBurn, and Molly Strickland.  

Combining Poetry and Prose Effectively

As a writer, I'm constantly being torn between different genres. Sometimes I feel inclined to write poetry and other times I'm ready to throw myself into the chaos of writing a novel. Up until a few years ago, I had always believed I needed to keep these two forms very separate. It was reading White Oleander by Janet Fitch that really changed that perspective. 

What White Oleander does beautifully is capture the complexity of plot and characters that fiction focuses on and ties it with the imagery and smart use of language that good poetry is known for. I've read other novels in the past that try and accomplish the same thing but come across as trying too hard. How Fitch makes her novel work is by including a character whose entire identity is wrapped into being a poet. The character’s daughter grows up knowing little more than the world her mother presents to her and so the telling of her story is told in the poetic language of her mother. How the novel is written becomes a symbol of the struggle Astrid goes through trying to find her own way in the world after mother betrays her because she’s still greatly influenced by her.

There are many reasons I would recommend this novel, not just on the basis of its language. It brings to life two dynamic female characters as well the battle for power between them. It also presents a plot that twists and turns with surprises and emotion. I don’t know if it’s a novel I could’ve written myself but it’s one I’m greatly inspired by. It’s taught me how to tie poetry into a great novel but also not to be reliant on language because when you strip White Oleander down to its bones, you’re still left with a great story.