Ta Mutonji

Ta Mutonjipublished her debut bookShut Up, You're Prettyin the spring of 2019. The short story collection traverses the vibrant inner-worlds of women,exploring themesof race, class, migrationand femininity as they collide in Scarborough, Ont. Mutonji also contributed to the essay collectionThe Unpublished City, Volume IIedited by Phoebe Wang, Canisia Lubrin and Dionne Brand.

Born in Congo-Kinshasa, Mutonji is now based in Scarborough, Ont.

CBC Books namedMutonji a writer to watch in 2019.

• Why Ta Mutonji wanted her first short story collection to challenge what diverse literature is supposed to be
• 19 Canadian writers to watch in 2019
• Toronto author's short-story collection gives readers another view of Scarborough

Books by Ta Mutonji

WhyTa MutonjiwroteShut Up, You're Pretty

"I was first writing these stories independently and I realized that I waswriting the same character for the protagonist. I wanted to explore why I was doing that. I didn't wantto write a collection of short stories about a young black woman living her life and have it be suggested that it was the experience of all black women. I did understand, however, that itwould probably be regarded as such because we don't have enough young women of colour writing.

That wasimportant to me, to show that this is one woman experiencing different women in multiple ways and experiencing different experiences in multiple ways.- Ta Mutonji

"I decided to keep it to one character so this could be viewed as one experience.That wasimportant to me, to show that this is one woman experiencing different women in multiple ways and experiencing different experiences in multiple ways. This is not at all the experience of every personof colour, of every women, of everyimmigrantand of every person from that Galloway neighbourhood."

Read more inTa Mutonji's interview with CBC Books.