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The Halifax Explosion" is a poem written by Halifax's seventh poet laureate, Dr. Afua Cooper. It reveals dramatically through powerful words and 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 the fire took on the residents of Halifax and the surrounding area, which stretched all the way north to Africville. It also shows the personal heroic actions of many African Nova Scotians, despite the long-term and continuing racism and discrimination suffered by the African Nova Scotian community.
Afua Cooper commemorates the Halifax Explosion through verse and highlights the experiences of the Black Haligonians in this disaster. Her powerful words are magnified in this book with dramatic historical photographs and eloquent art.
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