The Halifax Explosion

"The Halifax Explosion" is a poem written by Halifax's seventh poet laureate, Dr. Afua Cooper. It reveals dramatically through powerful images what happened on 6 December 1917 at 9:05 AM when two ships, the Mont-Blanc, carrying munitions, and the Imo, carrying war supplies, collided in the Halifax Harbour. The poem shows the tragic toll the resulting explosion and fire took on the residents of Halifax and the surrounding area, which stretched all the way north to Africville. It also shows the personal heroics of many, despite long-term and continuing racism and discrimination suffered by the African Nova Scotian community.

Afua Cooper wanted to commemorate the Halifax Explosion through verse, and to highlight the experiences of the Black Haligonians in this disaster. Her powerful words are magnified in this book with dramatic historical photographs and eloquent art.