George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke (born February 12 1960) is a Canadian poet and playwright. His work largely explores and chronicles the experience and history of the Black Canadian community of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that Clarke refers to as Africadia.

Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Clarke has spent much of his career writing about the black communities of Nova Scotia. He also served for a time in the African-American Studies department at Duke University. He earned a B.A. honours degree in English from the University of Waterloo (1984), an M.A. degree in English from Dalhousie University (1989) and a Ph.D. degree in English from Queen’s University (1993). In addition, he has received honorary degrees from Dalhousie University (LL.D.), the University of New Brunswick (Litt.D.), the University of Alberta (Litt.D.), and the University of Waterloo (Litt.D.). He is currently an English professor at the University of Toronto.

He was a featured writer/instructor at the 2007 Maritime Writers' Workshop & Literary Festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Family

Clarke is a great-nephew of the late Canadian opera singer Portia White, politician Bill White and labour union leader Jack White.

Awards

In 2001 he won the Governor General's Award for poetry for his book "Execution Poems".

Clarke's "Whylah Falls" was one of the selected books in the 2002 edition of "Canada Reads", where it was championed by Nalo Hopkinson.

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. He was also inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2008.

Bibliography

Poetry

* 1983: "Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues", Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield, ISBN 0-919001-12-2
* 1990: "Whylah Falls", Vancouver: Polestar, ISBN 0-919591-57-4 (revised edition, 2000 ISBN 1-896095-50-X)
* 1994: "Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems 1978–1993". Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield, ISBN 0-919001-83-1
* 1999: "Gold Indigoes". Durham: Carolina Wren, ISBN 0-932112-40-4
* 2001: "Execution Poems: The Black Acadian Tragedy of George and Rue". Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Gaspereau Press, ISBN 1-894031-48-2
* 2001: "Blue". Vancouver: Polestar, ISBN 1-55192-414-5
* 2005: "Illuminated Verses". Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, ISBN 1-55130-280-2
* 2006: "Black". Vancouver: Polestar, ISBN 1551929031

Plays

* 1999: "Whylah Falls: The Play". Toronto: Playwrights Canada, ISBN 0-88754-565-3
* 1999: "Beatrice Chancy". Vancouver: Polestar, ISBN 1-896095-94-1
* 2003: "Québécité". Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Gaspereau Press, ISBN 1-894031-74-1
* 2007: "Trudeau: Long March, Shining Path". Kentville, Nova Scotia: Gaspereau Press,

Novels

* 2005: "George and Rue". Toronto: HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-225539-1 / ISBN 0-00-648569-3

Anthologies edited

* 1991: "Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing, Volume One". Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield, ISBN 0-919001-67-X
* 1992: "Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing, Volume Two". Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia: Pottersfield, ISBN 0-919001-71-8
* 1997: "Eyeing the North Star: Directions in African-Canadian Literature". Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1997 ISBN 0-7710-2125-9

Criticism

* 2002: "Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature". Toronto: University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-8191-6

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
* 1991: Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry, Ottawa Independent Writers
* 1998: Portia White Prize, Nova Scotia Arts Council, 1998.
*Bellagio Centre Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation, New York City
* 1999: Alumni Achievement Award, University of Waterloo
* 2002: Governor General's Award for Poetry, for "Execution Poems"
* National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry
* 2004: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Achievement Award, Black Theatre Workshop
* 2006: Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
* 2006: Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction
* 2006: Frontieras Poesis Premuil [Prize] , Poesis Magazine, International Poetry Festival, Satu Mare, Romania
* 2006: Order of Nova Scotia
* 2007: Longlisted for the IMPAC Award, for "George and Rue"
* 2008: Officer of the Order of Canada. [cite web|url=http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5447|title=Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada]

ee also

*Acadia

References

External links

* [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/bwriting/stories/s1355581.htm] Transcript of interview with Ramona Koval, ABC Radio National, recorded Montreal, Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, April 2005.
* [http://www.athabascau.ca/writers/geclarke.html Brief Bio]
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010840 George Elliott Clarke's] entry in [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=HomePage&Params=A1 The Canadian Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.athabascau.ca/writers/geclarke_biblio.html Full list of works]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/georgeandrue.html Book Review: George Elliott Clarke’s George & Rue]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/wordsatlarge/features/feature.php?storyId=306 Poet of the Month from CBC Words at Large (February 2007)]
* [http://www.collectionscanada.ca/rights-and-freedoms/023021-1200-e.html On "This Part May Be Cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms"] at Library and Archives Canada