Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab

by Shani Mootoo

  I could make this place my home.

  Anta Bonasse, Kyrie, Eleison,

  Anta Icacos, Kyrie, Eleison,

  Anta Los Gallos, Kyrie, Eleison,

  Anta Fullarton, Kyrie, Eleison.

  There was some small commotion coming from the tent. The three who remained there were calling out to Anta and me, and pointing urgently at the cobalt sky. A flock of five shockingly bright scarlet ibis flew directly overhead, and were moving on now, slowly, tracing the length of the river out to where it met the sea.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The following people were kind enough to read a draft of this novel at one stage or another in its evolution: Karen Alliston, Dionne Brand, Faye Guenther, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Carlyn Moulton, and my brother-in-law Shekhar Mahabir. Their insights and comments were invaluable and greatly appreciated. Richard Fung certainly belongs in this list, but I must also thank him for allowing me to poach the wonderful and evocative story told to him by his mother, and later related to me, about cacao thieves moving through the Fung’s forested estate at night with lanterns powered by the light of fireflies.

  I single out Smaro Kambourelli to thank her for reading drafts of the manuscript. Her continued interest and encouragement are invaluable to me, and move me greatly.

  Sue Hierlihy sent me in the right direction for the answer to a question concerning a detail, nevertheless important. My brother Ramesh Mootoo, Zaphura Linda Chan, and my dear friend Brenda Middagh provided support and encouragement at crucial moments. To them I am indebted.

  To Dr. Mark Fortier and The University of Guelph’s Writer-in-Residence Program; Dr. Paula Morgan and Dr. Funso Aiyejina and The University of the West Indies, Trinidad, Writer-in-Residence Program; The Ontario Arts Council Works in Progress grant program; and The K.M. Hunter Foundation’s Artist Award for Literature—thank you all for recognizing my work and giving me time, space and financial support to write this novel.

  Thank you to Ellen Levine and Trident Media Group for taking care of business, and Kristin Cochrane and Doubleday Canada for taking on this book. It is my fortune to have once again worked with publisher and editor Lynn Henry. My admiration and appreciation for her have deepened with this book.

  Despite the physical distances that separate us, my family of origin—my father, Romesh, my two sisters, Vahli and Indrani, and two brothers, Ramesh and Kavir—continue to play a significant role in spurring me on.

  Deborah Root, not least, is owed everything. To enumerate the reasons, and the ways, is to embarrass us both (in a good way), and would, in any case, run the length of a small book itself. It is not enough to say that she saw, beginning to end, every draft of this book, and was tireless and generous with her time, prescience, insightful questions and provocations, and with her belief in me and in this story. A simple thank you must do, as words themselves are, in this instance, entirely inadequate.