George Elliott Clarke, (born February 12, 1960) is a Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the

Poet Laureate of Toronto The Poet Laureate of Toronto is the city's literary ambassador and advocate for poetry, language and the arts. The poet laureate's mandate includes the creation of a legacy project that is unique to the individual. They also attend events across th ...

from 2012 to 2015 and as the 2016–2017 Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. His work is known largely for its use of a vast range of literary and artistic traditions (both "high" and "low"), its lush physicality and its bold political substance. One of Canada's most illustrious poets, Clarke is also known for chronicling the experience and history of the

Black Canadian Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though ...

communities of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, creating a cultural geography that he has coined "Africadia".

Life

Clarke was born to William and Geraldine Clarke in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for seve ...

, near the

Black Loyalist Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the C ...

community of Three Mile Plains, and grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He graduated from Queen Elizabeth High School in 1978. He earned a BA honours degree in English from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

(1984), an MA degree in English from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

(1989) and a PhD degree in English from Queen's University (1993). He has received honorary degrees from

( LL.D.), the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Amer ...

( Litt.D.), the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

(Litt.D.), the

(Litt.D.), and most recently, Saint Mary's University (Litt.D). He taught English and Canadian Studies at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

from 1994 to 1999 and was appointed the Seagrams Visiting Chair in Canadian Studies at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

for the academic year 1998–1999. In 1999, he became professor of English at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, where, in 2003, he was appointed the inaugural E J Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature. Clarke has also served as a Noted Scholar at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

(2002), as a visiting scholar at

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not par ...

(2005), and as the William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

(2013–14); and, outside of the academic sphere, as a researcher for the

Ontario Provincial Parliament The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed b ...

(1982–83), editor of the Imprint (

, 1984–85) and The Rap ( Halifax, 1985–87), social worker for the

Black United Front of Nova Scotia Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

(1985–86), parliamentary aide to

Howard McCurdy Howard Douglas McCurdy (December 10, 1932 – February 20, 2018) was a Canadian civil rights activist, politician and university professor. Life and career Born in London, Ontario, McCurdy's great-great grandfather Nasa McCurdy was an agent ...

(1987–91), and newspaper columnist for the Halifax '' Daily News'' (1988–89). Clarke is a sought-after conference speaker and is active in poetry circles throughout Canada, the US, the Caribbean, and Europe. He is also a founding member of the music collective Afro-Métis Nation, which put out its first album, ''Constitution'', in May 2019. The group derives its name from the artists' mixed Africadian and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...

descent. Clarke has described the group's sound as "a mash-up of southern-fried blues and saltwater spirituals, with Nashville guitars, Mi’kmaw-and-“African” drums, Highland bagpipes and Acadien fiddles."

Writing career

Clarke is recognized both for his own oeuvre, which includes seventeen collections of poetry, two novels, and four works of drama and opera, and for collecting and promoting stories of African-Canadian writers and poets in anthologies and studies such as ''Border Lines'' (1995), ''Eyeing the North Star'' (1997), ''Odysseys Home'' (2002), ''Fire on the Water'' (2002), ''Directions Home'' (2012) and ''Locating Home'' (2017). His artistic influences stretch from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

, from

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

to Pierre Elliott Trudeau and

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

, and it is from the fertile contradictions and tensions between thinkers of all periods of history that Clarke's later work draws much of its power. His style, with its embrace of the vernacular, the rambunctious, the unresolved and the spontaneous, lends itself well to the bold, passionate performances for which he is well known. His poetic and academic careers intersect in their particular emphasis on the perspectives of the African descendants in Canada and

, especially the African-American slaves’ descendants who settled on the East coast of Nova Scotia, whom he calls "Africadian." He writes that it is a word that he "minted from 'Africa' and 'Acadia' (the old name for Nova Scotia and

), to denote the Black populations of the Maritimes and especially of Nova Scotia". Some of his poetry has also been set to music by the a cappella gospel quartet Four the Moment. He views "Africadian" literature as "literal and liberal—I canonize songs and sonnets, histories and homilies."Clarke, George Elliott, ''Fire on the Water: Anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing, Volume One'' (1991), Porters Lake,

: Pottersfield Press. Clarke has stated that he found further writing inspiration in the 1970s and his "individualist poetic scored with implicit social commentary" came from the "Gang of Seven" intellectuals, "poet-politicos: jazz trumpeter

, troubadour-bard

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, libertine lyricist

Irving Layton Irving Peter Layton, OC (March 12, 1912 – January 4, 2006) was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following, but also made him enemies. As T. Jacobs notes in his biography (2001) ...

, guerrilla leader and poet

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

, reactionary modernist

, Black Power orator

and the Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau." Clarke found "as a whole, the group’s blunt talk, suave styles, acerbic independence, raunchy macho, feisty lyricism, singing heroic and a scarf-and-beret chivalry quite, well, liberating." His poetry and scholarship, which address and challenge historic encounters with racism, segregated areas, discrimination, hatred, forced relocation and a loss of a sense of identity and a sense of belonging experienced by the Black populations of Canada, have earned him worldwide acclaim. In his anthology ''Fire On The Water'', Clarke uses a biblical timeline stretching from Genesis to Psalms and Proverbs to Revelation to present Black writings and authors born within a specific period. These names reflect the Africadians’ and other Black peoples’ forebears and the first singers' own preferences for singing "the Lord’s song in this strange land." In his most recent book, ''These Are the Words'', a collaboration with Canadian Poet John B. Lee, Clarke translates one of the nine books of the Bible's apocrypha into a vigorous English vernacular. It is a prime example of his wide and open poetic sensibility, in which the spiritual and the sensual have equally their part. His intellectual contributions involve both his ability to combine literary criticism and theatrical forte and his continuance of the themes of cultural inclusiveness and Canadian iconic symbolism. In his 2007 play ''Trudeau: Long March, Shining Path'', Clarke features his Liberal hero Trudeau (1919–2000) describing him as "the Shakespearean character: ...He’s a figure about whom it is almost impossible to say anything definitive because he is encompassed by so many contradictions but that’s what makes him interesting." In presenting a multicultural Trudeau on the international stage, Clarke seeks to capture the human dimensions, the personality of Trudeau rather than his politics so as to emphasize the dialogues among key characters and "show the people as people not just exponents of ideas". In 2012 Clarke was given substantial critical recognition in a volume devoted to the body of his writing, ''Africadian Atlantic: Essays on George Elliott Clarke'', edited by Joseph Pivato. In his 2016 and 2017 collections of poems, the names of which, ''Canticles I (MXXVI)'' and ''Canticles I (MMXVII)'', are a reference to

's The Cantos and The Song of Solomon, Clarke puts famous thinkers, explorers and rulers of the 17th, 18th and 20th Centuries into a dialogue on slavery and heritage. Together, these collections make up the first part of a projected three-part epic. Canticles II: MMXIX was released in 2019. In his time as Poet Laureate of Toronto, Clarke created the Poets' Corner at City Hall, and worked with the Toronto Public Library to create the Toronto Poetry Map, an electronic map of the city that marks all sites referenced in Canadian poetry, and presents the relevant lines to the viewer. He also founded the East End Poetry Festival. For these accomplishments and more he is credited with expanding the role and responsibilities of the Poet Laureate considerably. Clarke similarly expanded the role of Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate during his tenure, becoming the first to have his poems recited in the Houses and recorded in Hansard.

Family

Mr Clarke is a great-nephew of the late Canadian opera singer

Portia White Portia May White (June 24, 1911February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, White ...

, politician Bill White and labour union leader Jack White. Clarke is a seventh-generation African Canadian and is descended from African-American refugees from the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

who escaped to the British and were relocated to Nova Scotia. Clarke is the great grandson of William Andrew White, an American-born Baptist preacher and missionary, army chaplain, and radio pioneer, who was one of the very few black officers in the British army worldwide during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Clarke also has Mi'kmaq Indigenous ancestry.

Awards and merits

In 1998 Clarke won the Portia White Prize for Artistic Achievement. In 2001, he won the Governor General's Award for poetry for his book ''Execution Poems,'' as well as the National Magazine Gold Medal for Poetry. He has also won the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award (2004), the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize (2005-2008), the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction (2006), and the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (2009). Clarke was appointed to the Order of Nova Scotia in 2006, and to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

, at the rank of Officer, in 2008. On January 16, 2008 Clarke was made an honorary Fellow of the Haliburton Literary Society, the oldest literary society in North America, at the University of King's College, Halifax; and in 2009 he was a co-recipient of the William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations from the City of Toronto for his outstanding achievements and commitment in making a distinct difference in racial relations in Toronto. Clarke was chosen expressly for "his local and national leadership role in creating an understanding and awareness of African and black culture and excellence in his contribution to redefining culture." In November 2012, Clarke became Toronto's fourth Poet Laureate. In January 2016, Clarke became Canada's seventh Parliamentary Poet Laureate. In 2018, thanks to a gift from Ms. Rebecca Gardiner, the George Elliott Clarke Scholarship Fund was established at Duke University. His 2021 book ''J'Accuse! (Poem versus Silence)'' was shortlisted for the 2022 ReLit Award for poetry."15 poetry books shortlisted for 2022 ReLit Awards"
CBC Books, May 2, 2022.

Bibliography

*"To Paris, Burning," In Constance Rooke (ed.), ''Writing Away: the PEN Canada Travel Anthology'', McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1994. * Kamboureli, Smaro (1996), ''Making a Difference: Canadian Multicultural Literature''. Toronto: Oxford University Press, pp. 491 * Tracey, Lindalee (1999), ''A Scattering of Seeds: The Creation of Canada''. Toronto: McArthur & Company * '' Africadian Atlantic: Essays on George Elliott Clarke''. ed. Joseph Pivato. Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2012.

Poetry

* 1983: ''Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues'', Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield. * 1990: ''

Whylah Falls ''Whylah Falls'' is a long narrative poem (or "verse novel") by George Elliott Clarke, published in book form in 1990. As with much of Clarke's work, the poem is inspired by the history and culture of the Black Canadian community in Nova Scotia, ...

'', Vancouver: Polestar, (revised edition, 2000, ) * 1994: ''Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems 1978–1993''. Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield. * 1999: ''Gold Indigoes''. Durham: Carolina Wren, * 2001: ''Execution Poems: The Black Acadian Tragedy of George and Rue''. Wolfville, Nova Scotia: Gaspereau Press, * 2001: ''Blue''. Vancouver: Polestar, * 2001: ''Blue II'', A Trestle Chapbook in ''Running With Scissors'', Montréal: Cumulus Press, * 2005: ''Illuminated Verses''. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, * 2006: ''Black''. Vancouver: Polestar, * 2008: ''Blues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke''.

Wilfrid Laurier University Press Wilfrid Laurier University Press, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a publisher of scholarly writing and is part of Wilfrid Laurier University. The fourth-largest university press in Canada, WLUP publishes work in a variety of disciplines in the hum ...

, * 2009: ''I & I''. Fredericton: Goose Lane, * 2011: ''Red''. Gaspereau Press, * 2013: ''Lasso the Wind: Aurélia’s Verses and Other Poems''. Illus. Susan Tooke. Nimbus Books, * 2013: ''Illicit Sonnets''. Eyewear Publishing, * 2014: ''Traverse''. Exile Editions, * 2015: ''Extra Illicit Sonnets''. Exile Editions, * 2016: ''Gold''. Gaspereau Press, * 2016: ''Canticles I (MMXVI)''. Guernica Editions, * 2017: ''Canticles I (MMXVII)''. Guernica Editions, * 2017: ''The Merchant of Venice (Retried)''. Kentville, Nova Scotia: Gaspereau Press. * 2018: ''These Are the Words''. Collaboration with John B. Lee. Hidden Book Press, *2019: ''Portia White: A Portrait in Words''.

Nimbus Publishing Nimbus Publishing is a publishing company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company specializes in subjects relevant to the Atlantic Provinces. Until 2016, the company published an average of 35 to 40 new titles a year, but expanded its outp ...

, *2021: ''J'Accuse! (Poem versus Silence)''

Plays

* 1999: ''Whylah Falls: The Play''. Toronto: Playwrights Canada, * 1999: '' Beatrice Chancy''. Vancouver: Polestar, * 2003: ''Québécité''. Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Gaspereau Press, * 2007: ''Trudeau: Long March, Shining Path''. Kentville, Nova Scotia: Gaspereau Press,

Novels

* 2005: '' George and Rue''. Toronto: HarperCollins, / * 2016: '' The Motorcyclist''. Toronto: HarperCollins

Memoir

* 2021: ''Where Beauty Survived''

Anthologies edited

* 1991: ''Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing, Volume One''. Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield, * 1992: ''Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing, Volume Two''. Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield, * 1995: ''Border Lines: Contemporary Poems in English''. Edited by J.A. Wainwright, George Elliot Clarke and others. Mississauga, Ont.: Copp Clark, 1995. * 1997: ''Eyeing the North Star: Directions in African-Canadian Literature''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1997 * 2018: ''Locating Home: The First African-Canadian Novel and Verse Collections''. Tightrope Books, 2018.

Criticism

* 2002: ''Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, * 2011: ''Directions Home: Approaches to African-Canadian Literature''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,

Awards

* 1979: Honourable Mention, Atlantic Writing Competition (Adult Poetry), Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia * 1981: First Prize, Atlantic Writing Competition (Adult Poetry), Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia * 1983: Second Prize, Bliss Carman Poetry Award,

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

* 1991: Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry, Ottawa Independent Writers * 1998: Portia White Prize, Nova Scotia Arts Council * 1998: Bellagio Center Fellow,

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, aft ...

, New York City * 1999: Alumni Achievement Award,

* 2002:

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by th ...

for Poetry, for ''Execution Poems'' * ''National Magazine'' Gold Award for Poetry * 2004: Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award,

Black Theatre Workshop Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) is a non-profit theater company based in Montreal and is one of the oldest Black English-speaking professional theatre companies in the Canada. It was established by Clarence Bayne and Arthur Goddard, who previously al ...

* 2006: Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize,

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Pierre Elliott Trudeau), commonly called the Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Trudeau), is an independent and non-partisan Canadian charity founded in 2001 by friends and family of for ...

* 2006: Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction * 2006: Frontieras Poesis Premuil

rize Rize ( Greek: ρίζα, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian: რიზე, , Ottoman Turkish: ريزه) is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Rize is a typically Turkish provincial capital wi ...

''Poesis Magazine'', International Poetry Festival, Satu Mare, Romania * 2006: Order of Nova Scotia * 2007: Longlisted for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

, for '' George and Rue'' * 2008: Officer of the

* 2009: Shortlisted, Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction * 2010: Shortlisted, Acorn-Plantos Award for People's Poetry * 2012: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadi ...

* 2012:

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

* 2012: Excellence in the Arts Award (Canadian Civil Liberties Association) * 2012: Appointed by the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The c ...

to the post of

* 2016: Appointed by The

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, ...

to the post of Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate * 2017: Lifetime Achievement Award,

Alumni Association * 2017: Trailblazers Award: National Black Canadians Summit, Federation of Black Canadians & Michaëlle Jean Foundation * 2017: Elected, Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society