Clockwise from l. to r.: Terese Mason Pierre (Josh Gooden); Aline-Mwezi Niyonseng; Chimedum Ohaegbu (Mel Howe); Zalika Reid-Benta; Suyi Davies Okungbowa.

Ten contemporary Black writers show up boldly on the pages of a new anthology of short fiction, As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories. Traditionally published speculative fiction, with a few exceptions such as Nalo Hopkinson, has not been associated historically with Black authors, yet in actuality, speculative storytelling is deeply intertwined with Black culture.

Stories of folklore, magic, sorcery, and fantasy are embedded in African oral traditions. Some held deeper meanings and taught important lessons. The understanding of the interconnectedness between history, tradition, culture, and the beliefs of the ancestors has always existed in Black spaces. Now that publishing has caught up to that reality, more Black authors are finding their readership and wowing eager readers with stories that explore the supernatural, alternate histories, fantasy, and all things otherworldly. This collection of Canadian-based writers, who have roots in places around the globe, including the U.S., Rwanda, and Nigeria, do exactly that.

In the opening story, Ravenous returns home to a place also called Ravenous to attend her mother’s fourth funeral. Chimedum Ohaegbu’s “Ravenous, Called Iffy,” is told in first person and takes readers along with Ravenous as she steps off the bus into a town whose thirst “is far more pressing than hunger.” At this funeral she meets family she never knew existed.

In Terese Mason Pierre’s “A Fair Assessment,” protagonist Sarah Baptiste summons the dead to learn the stories of items that had belonged to them, before pricing the objects for sale in Miss Zinnia’s antique shop. Sarah summons up stories inside the story, creating a fascinating – and magic-filled – jaunt through the signifance and symbolism of the items for their former owners, and in the process she learns something surprising about her own history.

Hallelujah is a woman with a peculiar awareness of a rip in the air. In her contribution to the collection, francesca ekwuyasi explores the idea of parallel dimensions. When that tear in the air pulls Hallelujah through, she lands in a mysterious space called “Elsewhere,” where everything and everyone she knows in the world of “Here” is slightly altered, including her lover and her father.

Whitney French takes us to the market. There, amidst the chaos of decades-long construction, Cousin retrieves a small charcoal cooktop for Aunty from a convenience store man. Now, if only he can find his way past the loops that have him retracing his steps dozens of times over. “Deh Ah Market” engages with crisp dialogue that captures authentic Caribbean speak – witty, historic, and familiar.

In “Paroxysm,” Oizys is frozen with fear about a virus that sends its victims toward their death from the extreme of a single emotion – her neighbour died in fits of mad laughter. Zalika Reid-Benta’s Oizys withdraws deeper into herself as she shuts herself away from the world, but instead of protecting herself from the sickness, she is haunted by the recurring appearance of her own rubbish – from which there is no escape.

Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga concludes the spectacular lineup of stories with “Just Say Garuka,” in which summer in Saskatoon serves as the backdrop for two teenagers and a magic carpet. As one teen watches the other practise maneuvering her carpet (a talent hidden from most people), her curiosity about the origins and the witchlike powers of the other grows, even as a friendship develops.

Selected, edited, and skilfully situated by Pierre, a poet, speculative fiction writer, and editor, As the Earth Dreams packs powerful short fiction into a wide-ranging, not-so-quiet anthology of work by emerging and more established Black voices.