Paul db Watkins
@paulwatkins.bsky.social
✍️🎥 Writer, English Lit, and Film Professor pauldbwatkins.com (he/him)
🎵Vinyl Aficionado and DJ
📚 Author: 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟’ ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕒𝕟: 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕟 ℙ𝕠𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕪, 𝕄𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℂ𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕫𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 (WLU Press)
SoundinCanaan.com
🍉 "Now’s the Time” (MLK/Parker/Basquiat).
🎵Vinyl Aficionado and DJ
📚 Author: 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟’ ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕒𝕟: 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕟 ℙ𝕠𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕪, 𝕄𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℂ𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕫𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 (WLU Press)
SoundinCanaan.com
🍉 "Now’s the Time” (MLK/Parker/Basquiat).
Oh no — rest in power, D’Angelo. You were a truly singular talent. 🕊️
October 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Oh no — rest in power, D’Angelo. You were a truly singular talent. 🕊️
“The truth and reconciliation committees are coming. The land acknowledgements are coming. The very sorry descendants are coming.”
October 9, 2025 at 5:25 PM
“The truth and reconciliation committees are coming. The land acknowledgements are coming. The very sorry descendants are coming.”
Rest in Power, Jane Goodall. Photo from 2019.
October 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Rest in Power, Jane Goodall. Photo from 2019.
Upcoming readings! ✊🍉
September 25, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Upcoming readings! ✊🍉
Shuhada’ Sadaqat (Sinéad O’Connor) left this world on this day in 2023. Her music and legacy remain a powerful testament of speaking truth to power. Today I’m spinning 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕒𝕝 𝕄𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 (1994), which includes the devastating “Famine.”
July 26, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Shuhada’ Sadaqat (Sinéad O’Connor) left this world on this day in 2023. Her music and legacy remain a powerful testament of speaking truth to power. Today I’m spinning 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕒𝕝 𝕄𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 (1994), which includes the devastating “Famine.”
I love trains, so travelling through Japan by rail was delightful. I want to go back already.
July 21, 2025 at 12:07 AM
I love trains, so travelling through Japan by rail was delightful. I want to go back already.
The only record I grabbed for RSD was 𝕀𝕫𝕚𝕡𝕙𝕠 ℤ𝕒𝕞 (𝕄𝕪 𝔾𝕚𝕗𝕥𝕤) by Pharoah Sanders. Mastered by the legendary Kevin Gray, it sounds incredible. If you’re a fan of Karma, you’d like this one which also features vocalist Leon Thomas.
April 26, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The only record I grabbed for RSD was 𝕀𝕫𝕚𝕡𝕙𝕠 ℤ𝕒𝕞 (𝕄𝕪 𝔾𝕚𝕗𝕥𝕤) by Pharoah Sanders. Mastered by the legendary Kevin Gray, it sounds incredible. If you’re a fan of Karma, you’d like this one which also features vocalist Leon Thomas.
Pope Francis preached compassion and justice, and continued to call for a ceasefire in Gaza—even in his final address. He also spoke out about the existential threat of climate change and the ongoing imperative to end poverty. 🕊️
April 21, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Pope Francis preached compassion and justice, and continued to call for a ceasefire in Gaza—even in his final address. He also spoke out about the existential threat of climate change and the ongoing imperative to end poverty. 🕊️
Sliman Mansour, The Nazarene (Suolil), oil on canvas, 1993.
Mansour: “Palestinians hold onto hope, dignity, and resistance, believing that even from the darkest tombs, life and freedom will rise again.”
Mansour: “Palestinians hold onto hope, dignity, and resistance, believing that even from the darkest tombs, life and freedom will rise again.”
April 20, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Sliman Mansour, The Nazarene (Suolil), oil on canvas, 1993.
Mansour: “Palestinians hold onto hope, dignity, and resistance, believing that even from the darkest tombs, life and freedom will rise again.”
Mansour: “Palestinians hold onto hope, dignity, and resistance, believing that even from the darkest tombs, life and freedom will rise again.”
So many of the people who voted for this will be in church today and again on Sunday. The hypocrisy is incredible.
April 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
So many of the people who voted for this will be in church today and again on Sunday. The hypocrisy is incredible.
It’s Friday—give the drummer some. 🥁
April 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM
It’s Friday—give the drummer some. 🥁
He also wants to use the notwithstanding clause to attack civil liberties and human rights. This should concern every Canadian.
April 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
He also wants to use the notwithstanding clause to attack civil liberties and human rights. This should concern every Canadian.
And here’s Poilievre showing that he’s not all that different from Trump when it comes to universities and free speech. #neverpoilievre
April 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
And here’s Poilievre showing that he’s not all that different from Trump when it comes to universities and free speech. #neverpoilievre
On this day, back on April 14, 2012, 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕖 by hip-hop industrial trailblazers Death Grips was leaked on YouTube. It still sounds fresh and experimental.
#deathgrips #themoneystore
#deathgrips #themoneystore
April 15, 2025 at 1:28 AM
On this day, back on April 14, 2012, 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕖 by hip-hop industrial trailblazers Death Grips was leaked on YouTube. It still sounds fresh and experimental.
#deathgrips #themoneystore
#deathgrips #themoneystore
It’s National Poetry Month. Here’s a simple mashup I made, mixing Zeinab Shaath’s 1973 “The Urgent Call of Palestine” with Refaat Alareer’s “If I Must Die,” as read by the legendary actor Brian Cox. The message in each remains as urgent as ever. #zeinabshaath #theurgentcallofpalestine #refaatalareer
April 9, 2025 at 10:44 PM
It’s National Poetry Month. Here’s a simple mashup I made, mixing Zeinab Shaath’s 1973 “The Urgent Call of Palestine” with Refaat Alareer’s “If I Must Die,” as read by the legendary actor Brian Cox. The message in each remains as urgent as ever. #zeinabshaath #theurgentcallofpalestine #refaatalareer
Fleeing the Jim Crow South and settling in Canada, Jackie Shane was a trailblazer in soul and R&B music, as well as a pioneer of gender fluidity and trans visibility. She was a major figure in the Toronto Sound, and her 1962 song “Any Other Way” became a top-10 hit in Toronto. #transdayofvisibility
March 31, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Fleeing the Jim Crow South and settling in Canada, Jackie Shane was a trailblazer in soul and R&B music, as well as a pioneer of gender fluidity and trans visibility. She was a major figure in the Toronto Sound, and her 1962 song “Any Other Way” became a top-10 hit in Toronto. #transdayofvisibility
Big sigh—Nanaimo’s vote splitting.
March 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Big sigh—Nanaimo’s vote splitting.
“Sundays are a bad time for the author. Just the sound of Billie Holiday alone accounts for this. Eleanora Fagan can break any Sunday in two.”
—Dionne Brand, The Blue Clerk
—Dionne Brand, The Blue Clerk
March 30, 2025 at 5:21 PM
“Sundays are a bad time for the author. Just the sound of Billie Holiday alone accounts for this. Eleanora Fagan can break any Sunday in two.”
—Dionne Brand, The Blue Clerk
—Dionne Brand, The Blue Clerk
In her book Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice, Pauline Oliveros defines Deep Listening as “learning to expand the perception of sounds to include the whole space/time continuum of sound—encountering the vastness and complexities as much as possible.” @discogsofficial.bsky.social
March 20, 2025 at 4:41 PM
In her book Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice, Pauline Oliveros defines Deep Listening as “learning to expand the perception of sounds to include the whole space/time continuum of sound—encountering the vastness and complexities as much as possible.” @discogsofficial.bsky.social
Alright, one more LOL. Here’s a few novels I’m currently reading.
What are you reading? Do you have a favourite book?
What are you reading? Do you have a favourite book?
March 18, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Alright, one more LOL. Here’s a few novels I’m currently reading.
What are you reading? Do you have a favourite book?
What are you reading? Do you have a favourite book?
I also enjoy reading music biographies. There are so many great ones out there, but these are some of my favourites.
March 18, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I also enjoy reading music biographies. There are so many great ones out there, but these are some of my favourites.
Here’s two books you should have in your collection that demonstrate the power of poetry. Mosab Abu Toha’s Forest of Noise and Dionne Brand’s Nomenclature (collected poems).
March 18, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Here’s two books you should have in your collection that demonstrate the power of poetry. Mosab Abu Toha’s Forest of Noise and Dionne Brand’s Nomenclature (collected poems).
Here are 10 books to meet this moment. I might have sneaked my own book into the mix—but hey, I think you should read it! Also, both Coates’s The Message and Naomi Klein’s Doppelgänger are great books that address the rise of far-right thinking and Western imperialism abroad.
March 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Here are 10 books to meet this moment. I might have sneaked my own book into the mix—but hey, I think you should read it! Also, both Coates’s The Message and Naomi Klein’s Doppelgänger are great books that address the rise of far-right thinking and Western imperialism abroad.
March is National Reading Month. I try to read all kinds of books— particularly books that challenge my perspective, and those that amplify voices outside my own.
I also like to collect books. Here’s a few of my first-edition books. #nationalreadingmonth #ralphellison #georgeorwell
I also like to collect books. Here’s a few of my first-edition books. #nationalreadingmonth #ralphellison #georgeorwell
March 18, 2025 at 4:55 PM
March is National Reading Month. I try to read all kinds of books— particularly books that challenge my perspective, and those that amplify voices outside my own.
I also like to collect books. Here’s a few of my first-edition books. #nationalreadingmonth #ralphellison #georgeorwell
I also like to collect books. Here’s a few of my first-edition books. #nationalreadingmonth #ralphellison #georgeorwell