“This Story I Tell You Be True”
Sylvia D. Hamilton’s Tender Re-Narration of the Black Atlantic Archive
Abstract
This article examines Sylvia D. Hamilton’s innovative engagement with archival documents to re-narrate Black histories within the context of the Black Atlantic Archive. Drawing on the concepts of “critical fabulation” and “displaced histories,” the study explores how Hamilton transforms archival fragments into poetry, centring the voices of marginalized Black subjects historically depicted through violence. By analyzing her collections And I Alone Escaped to Tell You and Tender, the article highlights Hamilton’s method of blurring the boundaries between historical narrative and poetic imagination, allowing for a rehumanization of the individuals erased from traditional historical accounts. Through her work, Hamilton not only challenges dominant narratives but also reclaims agency for her subjects, emphasizing the importance of memory and storytelling in the ongoing discourse surrounding race and history in Canada.
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