This is a collection of writing about power, about gaining power -- both political and personal -- and about being able to feel strong and proud of who you are. It also happens to be a powerful book.

Being black and gay in Canada is presumably no different than in any other predominantly white, Western nation -- often oppressive.

Cynics might describe Ma-Ka Diasporic Juks -- an anthology of writing by queer, black Canadians -- as an exercise in 'minority group banner waving,' but such a comment would deny the clear emphasis on individual, rather than group experience, in this collection.

An odd mix of short fiction, poetry and essay, Ma-Ka is a melting pot of black gay consciousness and features writing that is radical, highly political, stylistically experimental, erotic and sometimes all of these at once.

With more than 40 writers represented, it is perhaps unfair to discuss overall themes. Nevertheless, it is difficult to avoid comparisons between the experiences of each of the authors -- how they or their characters cope with feeling different, with prejudice from both white and black communities, with seeking and finding love, with isolation and loneliness.

Short fiction pieces include Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite's 'Baggy Trousers' about a boy discovering his sexuality in a poor, black neighbourhood, which is written almost entirely in urban slang with minimal punctuation. The piece captures well the jerky urgency of youth and the constant threat of violence.

Other strong stories are Shonia L. Brown's 'The Encounter' -- a tight, well-written tale about a beautiful black woman on the prowl, Renee Bess's 'At The Beauty Parlour 1972', about a teenage black girl who meets an older lesbian at the hairdressers, and Randy Boyd's 'Ovulation Night', a lurid but very witty story about a man and a woman making a baby, only the man is gay and wants to bring up the baby with his boyfriend and the woman wants $20,000 to open a bookshop.

But in many stories and poems there is also an under-current of anger -- anger at years of oppression by whites and anger at small-minded blacks who are not willing to accept difference within their own community. In 'This Lesbian Poem', Akhaji Zakiya transforms her own anger to form a life-affirming mantra with lines like,
'this lesbian poem been loving women since before it was'
Pride is the crucial ingredient in this collection. Much of the writing is about the importance of owning and being responsible for one's own self, one's own history, one's own community.

The text is littered with the words 'brother' and 'sister' and as a white reader you begin to realise just how much gay culture has borrowed from black culture in order to define itself -- to create a sense of community and shared experience.

The editors give a detailed explanation of the book's title in their introduction: 'Ma-ka', we are told, is a thorny plant common in tropical countries, diaspora refers to the dispersion of African people across the world and a 'juk' is the poke or prick you get from a ma-ka.

Because it grows in abundance, the editors explain, ma-ka is often taken for granted. But people are reminded of it quite sharply when it juks them.

Like the plant, this collection of writing succeeds in hitting a nerve. It is both a powerful and passionate book and serves as a potent reminder of the resilience and resourcefulness of the human spirit.
People try to chop-slash-mash-ma-ka down. But ma-ka juk back.''

David Crofts will be appearing at Rapid Fire 7, Melbourne's premier spoken word event, for Melbourne Fringe Festival, 8pm 13 October at Barracuda, 64 Smith Street, Collingwood. Details and bookings: (03) 9419 4445.