Juliane Okot Bitek
You haven’t read poems until you’ve read Juliane Okot Bitek.
Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace saved my life and I will defend his work unto my death, regardless of the bro you might think he is.
Esi Edugyan
Hot-air balloons but also nuanced and complicated explorations of race. Impossible to turn away.
The Flamethrowers – Rachel Kushner
Unconventional, solitary women. Military history. Art world. How much better can it get, honestly.
Amitav Ghosh
Better than Netflix. I feel transported when I read his work.
Shazia Hafiz Ramji is the author of Port of Being, a finalist for the 2019 BC Book Prizes (Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize), the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, and winner of the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry. Her writing has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Music & Literature, Canadian Literature, and Best Canadian Poetry 2019. Shazia lives on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver), where she works as an editor for various presses across Canada. She also teaches Creative Writing and English, and sometimes designs books. She is a columnist for Open Book and is currently at work on a novel.