Charles Saunders’ sword and soul narratives, pulp-fantasy-inspired tales of Black and African heroes, helped blaze a trail for the genre—but, like Saunders himself, they have a complicated and still-developing story. Jon Tattrie, author of the newly-released Saunders biography, To Leave A Warrior Behind, joins us to talk about the foundational novel Imaro: its themes, its history, and its legacy.

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• Guest: Jon Tattrie
• Title: Imaro by Charles R. Saunders
• Host:Jake Casella Brookins
• Music byGiselle Gabrielle Garcia
• Artwork byRob Patterson
• Opening poem by Bhartṛhari, translated by John Brough

References:

• • To Leave A Warrior Behind
  • Tricon Halifax
  • Charles R. Saunders Prize
  • Trident Bookstore
  • Amal El-Mohtar
  • Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn
  • Jude Mire’s Patchworld Nova
  • Hal-Con
  • Shag Harbour UFO
  • Sword & Soul
  • Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan
  • Robert E. Howard's Conan
  • Dark Fantasy magazine
  • Gene Day
  • Boris Vallejo & Franz Frazetta
  • Neuland Inline font
  • Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park
  • The Halifax Daily News
  • Africville
  • Saunder's Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers from the Halifax Forum to Ceasar's Palace
  • The Quest for Cush
  • Dossuye
  • Turkana wrist knives
  • “thews”
  • Octavia Butler, Samuel Delany
  • N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season & our episode on it
  • "The City of Madness"
  • Octavia Butler, Toni Adeyemi
  • Dossoye Novels
  • Dhambala
  • Abangonee
  • Charles de Lint
  • Amazons (1986) & Stormquest (1987), both directed by Alejandro Sessa
  • Mathieu Da Costa
  • Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia
  • The Spirit of Africville
  • Audiobook of To Leave A Warrior Behind