On Sal Mal Lane (60 page)
The Weatherman
by Clint McCown
Collected Poems
by Jane Kenyon
Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship
by Nuruddin Farah:
Sweet and Sour Milk
Sardines
Close Sesame
Duende
by Tracy K. Smith
All of It Singing: New and Selected Poems
by Linda Gregg
The Art of Syntax: Rhythm of Thought, Rhythm of Song
by Ellen Bryant Voigt
How to Escape from a Leper Colony
by Tiphanie Yanique
One Day I Will Write About This Place
by Binyavanga Wainaina
The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism
by Deborah Baker
Support for this series has been provided by the Manitou Fund as part of the Warner Reading Program.
About the Publisher
House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 with a mandate to publish Canadian-authored books, a mandate that continues to this day even as the list has branched out to include internationally acclaimed thinkers and writers. The press immediately gained attention for significant titles by notable writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Grant, and Northrop Frye. Since then, Anansi’s commitment to finding, publishing and promoting challenging, excellent writing has won it tremendous acclaim and solid staying power. Today Anansi is Canada’s pre-eminent independent press, and home to nationally and internationally bestselling and acclaimed authors such as Gil Adamson, Margaret Atwood, Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Rawi Hage, Misha Glenny, Jim Harrison, A. L. Kennedy, Pasha Malla, Lisa Moore, A. F. Moritz, Eric Siblin, Karen Solie, and Ronald Wright. Anansi is also proud to publish the award-winning nonfiction series The CBC Massey Lectures. In 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Anansi was honoured by the Canadian Booksellers Association as “Publisher of the Year.”
Table of Contents
The Listeners
Raju
Sonna’s Sisters Pay a Visit
Telling Secrets
The Keeper of Sal Mal Lane
Good Cigarettes
Piano Lessons
Speaking the Truth
Elsewhere
The Musician
Not Only the Piano
Nihil’s Secret
The Magic of the Stolen Guitar
A Visit to the Accident Service
Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrows
Devi’s Report Card
Raju Refuses to Be Demoted
Tigers
Sonna Remembers Everything and Nothing
Blue and Gold
Raju’s Gift
An Odd Alliance and a Little Romance
Old Mrs. Joseph’s Triumph
Kite Season
A Night of Rain and Talk
Ramazan: Before and After
Sonna’s Birthday Party
The Cricketer and the Old Man Talk of War
Out of the Blue, a Variety Show
Changes
An Election
Devi’s Secret
Revenge
Mohan and Jith Are Punished
The Last Perfect Day
The People Who Stayed Home
May Day
July
Home
Fire
Where Sonna Went
The Day That Followed
Ash
Flight
If Only
The Composer
An Embroidered Shirt
A Small Boy, an Old Man
