George Elliott Clarke, OC, ONS, FRCGS, PhD, LLD (etc.)
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Bio
A revered poet, writer, and scholar, George Elliott Clarke was born in Windsor, Nova
Scotia, near the Black Loyalist- and Black Refugee-settled community of Three Mile
Plains, in 1960. A member of the Eastern Woodland Métis Nation Nova Scotia, he’s of
Indigenous admixture—both matrilineal (Cherokee) and (likely) patrilineal (Mi’kmaq).
A graduate of the University of Waterloo (B.A., Hons.,1984), Dalhousie University
(M.A., 1989), and Queen’s University (Ph.D., 1993), Clarke is now the inaugural E.J.
Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto.
An Assistant Professor of English and Canadian Studies at Duke University, North
Carolina, 1994-1999, Clarke also served as the Seagrams Visiting Chair in Canadian
Studies at McGill University, 1998-1999, and as a Noted Scholar at the University of
British Columbia (2002) and as a Visiting Scholar at Mount Allison University (2005),
and as the William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at
Harvard University (2013-14).
He has also worked as a researcher (Ontario Provincial Parliament, 1982-83), editor
(Imprint, University of Waterloo, 1984-85, and The Rap, Halifax, NS, 1985-87), social
worker (Black United Front of Nova Scotia, 1985-86), parliamentary aide (House of
Commons, 1987-91), and newspaper columnist (The Daily News, Halifax, NS, 1988-89,
and The Halifax Herald, Halifax, NS, 1992-2016).
He lives in Toronto, Ontario, but he also owns land in Nova Scotia. He coined the terms
Africadia/Africadian and he has pioneered the study of African-Canadian literature.
His many honours include
the Portia White Prize for Artistic Achievement (1998),
Governor-General’s Award for Poetry (2001),
the National Magazine Gold Medal for Poetry (2001),
the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award (2004),
the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize (2005-08),
the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction (2006),
the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (U.S. 2009),
establishment of the George Elliott Clarke International Scholarship at Duke University
(2018),
appointment to the Order of Nova Scotia (2006),
appointment to the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer (2008),
appointment as Poet Laureate of the City of Toronto (2012-15),
appointment as Parliamentary [National] Poet Laureate (2016-17),
appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2017),
appointment as Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets (2021),
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appointment as Life Member of The Ontario Poetry Society (2024),
receipt of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for “Service to the Arts”
(2022),
and the receipt of eight honorary doctorates.
Website: georgeelliottclarke.net
Awards & Honours
1981—First Prize—Poetry—Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia provincial competition;
1991—Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry—Ottawa Independent Writers—awarded
to Whylah Falls as best book of poetry published by an Ottawa-based poet;
1993—Invitee—World Poetry Festival, Harbourfront Reading Series, Toronto;
1997—$12,000 Canada Council Arts Grant “B”—awarded for manuscript of Beatrice
Chancy;
1998—Portia White Prize—Nova Scotia Arts Council—$25,000 award for artistic
excellence;
1998—Bellagio Center Fellowship—Rockefeller Foundation of New York—a one-
month residency at the Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio, Italy, awarded to allow the
completion of the manuscript of Beatrice Chancy;
1999—Honorary Doctor of Laws degree—Dalhousie University;
1999—Alumni Achievement Award—University of Waterloo;
2000—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—University of New Brunswick;
2000—Outstanding Screenwriter Award—Toronto Black Film & Video Network—
awarded for One Heart Broken Into Song (CBC-TV, 1999);
2001—Governor-General’s Literary Award for Poetry—$15,000 award for selection of
Execution Poems as best book of poetry published in English in Canada;
2002—National Magazine Foundation Gold Award for Poetry—$1,500 award for
selection of six poems published in Prairie Fire as best poetry published in any
English-Canadian magazine in 2001;
2003—Appointed by Her Excellency, The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, Governor-
General of Canada, to the Board of Directors of the Canada Council for the Arts;
2003—Appointed E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of
Toronto;
2004—Martin Luther King, Jr. Award—Black Theatre Workshop of Montreal—awarded
for achievement;
2004—Estelle and Ludwig Jus Memorial Human Rights Award—University of Toronto
Alumni Association;
2005—Harbourfront Centre (Toronto) Fresh Ground Commission–$20,000—shared with
composer dd Jackson to write opera, Trudeau: Long March/Shining Path.
2005—Distinguished Teacher Award—Student Administrative Council, University of
Toronto;
2005—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—University of Alberta;
2005—African Renaissance Award—Planet Africa Television;
2005—Faculty Award—University of Toronto Black Alumni Association;
2005—Trudeau Foundation Trudeau Fellowship Prize—$225,000 award, over three
years, to support artistic and scholarly work;
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2006—Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction—Atlantic Book Awards—$1,500 award for
George & Rue;
2006—Frontieras Poesis Premiul [Prize]—Poesis [Magazine], Satu Mare, Romania—
$500 award and statuette in honour of poems in translation;
2006—Appointed by Her Honour, The Hon. Mayann Francis, Lieutenant-Governor
of Nova Scotia, to the Order of Nova Scotia;
2006—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—University of Waterloo;
2008—Honorary Fellow of the Haliburton Society—University of King’s College;
2008—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—Saint Mary’s University;
2008—Appointed by Her Excellency, The Rt. Hon. Michaelle Jean, Governor-General
of Canada, to the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer;
2008—William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations, City of Toronto;
2009—Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry, Hopewell Publications, awarded to Blues and
Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke, ed. Jon Paul Fiorentino;
2009—Honorary Doctor of Laws degree—Royal Military College of Canada;
2010—Honorary Doctor of Laws degree—University of Windsor;
2012—Honorary Doctor of Letters degree—Acadia University;
2012—The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal;
2012—Excellence in the Arts Award—Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
2012—Appointed by the City Council to the post of Poet Laureate of Toronto.
Honorarium: $10,000 per annum for the three-year term.
2014—Appointed Full Professor, Department of English, University of Toronto.
2016-17—Appointed by The Parliament of Canada to the post of Parliamentary
[National] Poet Laureate.
Honorarium: $20,000 per annum for the two-year term.
2017—Lifetime Achievement Award, Dalhousie University Alumni Association.
2017—Trailblazers Award—Michaelle Jean Foundation and Federation of Black
Canadians.
2017—Appointed, Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
2018—George Elliott Clarke Scholarship Fund established at Duke University,
thanks to a gift from Ms. Rebecca Gardiner.
2019—International Fellow Poets of the Year—Encyclopedic Poetry School, Beijing,
China. Statuette presented.
2021—Appointed Life Member, League of Canadian Poets;
[2022—Two GEC songs (music by Delvin E. Bernard) included on Slaight Family
Polaris Heritage Prize-winning album, We’re Still Standing (1987), by Four the
Moment];
2023—The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal;
2024—Named a “Most Notable” Alumnus of Dalhousie University;
2024—Lifetime Membership, The Ontario Poetry Society.
Collected Works
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Poetry
Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues. Pottersfield Press, 1983.
Whylah Falls. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 1990, 2000; Gaspereau Press, 2010.
Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems. Pottersfield Press, 1994.
Execution Poems. Gaspereau Press. 2000, 2001; 2009.
Blue. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 2001, 2008; Gaspereau Press, 2011.
Illuminated Verses. Canadian Scholars Press—Kellom Books, 2005.
Black. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 2006; Gaspereau Press, 2012.
Blues and Bliss: The Poetry of George Elliott Clarke, ed. Jon Paul Fiorentino. Wilfrid
Laurier University Press, 2008.
I & I. Goose Lane Editions, 2009.
Red. Gaspereau Press, 2011.
Illicit Sonnets. Eyewear Publishing, 2013, 2016.
Lasso the Wind: Aurélia’s Verses and Other Poems. Illus. Susan Tooke. Nimbus Books,
2013.
Traverse. Exile Editions, 2014. 2nd printing: 2014.
Extra Illicit Sonnets. Exile Editions, 2015.
Gold. Gaspereau Press, 2016.
Canticles I (MMXVI). Guernica Editions. 2016.
Canticles I (MMXVII). Guernica Editions, 2017.
These Are the Words. [The Gospel of Tobit by GEC & Bread, Water, Love by John B.
Lee.] Hidden Brook Press, 2018. [The Gospel of Tobit= pp. 1-71.]
Canticles II (MMXIX). Guernica Editions, 2019.
Portia White: A Portrait in Words. Nimbus Books, 2019.
Canticles II (MMXX). Guernica Editions, 2020.
J’Accuse…! (Poem Versus Silence). Exile Editions, 2021.
White. Gaspereau Press, 2021.
Canticles III (MMXXII). Guernica Editions, 2022.
Canticles III (MMXXIII). Guernica Editions, 2023.
Fiction
George & Rue: A Novel. HarperCollins Canada, 2004; Secker & Warburg, 2005, Carroll
& Graf, 2006; Vintage, 2006; Random House (E-book), 2012.
The Motorcyclist. HarperCollins Canada, 2016. HarperCollins Canada (paperback),
2017.
Prose
Ed. Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotian Writing. 2 vols.
Pottersfield Press, 1991-1992.
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Ed. Eyeing the North Star: Directions in African-Canadian Literature.
McClelland & Stewart, 1997.
Ed. The Dalhousie Review. Special Africadian Issue. [1999] 1997.
Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. University of Toronto Press,
2002.
Directions Home: Approaches to African-Canadian Literature. University of Toronto
Press, 2012.
On Entering the Echo Chamber of Epic: My “Canticles” vs. Pound’s Cantos. Nanaimo,
BC: Vancouver Island University / Arbutus Editions, 2016.
Ed., Locating Home: The First African-Canadian Novel and Verse Collections. Toronto:
Tightrope Books, 2017.
Ed., African American Review, Special Issue on African-Canadianité, 51.3 (Fall 2018).
The Quest for a “National” Nationalism: E.J. Pratt’s Epic Ambition, “Race”
Consciousness, and the Contradictions of Canadian Identity. St. John’s (NL):
Breakwater Books, 2021.
Where Beauty Survived: An Africadian Memoir. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 2021.
Where Beauty Survived: A Memoir of Race, Family Secrets, and Africadia. Toronto:
Vintage Canada, 2023.
Whiteout: How Canada Cancels Blackness. Montréal: Véhicule Press, 2023.
Ed., Black Activist, Black Scientist, Black Icon: The Autobiography of Dr. Howard D.
McCurdy. Halifax: Nimbus Books, 2023.
Drama
Whylah Falls: The Play. Playwrights Canada Press, 1999, 2000.
Beatrice Chancy. Raincoast—Polestar Books, 1999, 2008.
Québécité: A Jazz Fantasia in Three Cantos. Gaspereau Press. 2003.
Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path. Gaspereau Press. 2007.
The Merchant of Venice (Retried). Gaspereau Press, 2017.
“Settling Africville.” Scripting (In)migration: New Canadian Plays. Ed. Yana Meerzon.
Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2019. 107-173.
Libretti
“Beatrice Chancy: An Opera Libretto in Four Acts.” Canadian Theatre Review. 1998.
“Québécité: An Opera Libretto in Three Cantos.” Canadian Theatre Review. 2002.
“Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path.” Canadian Theatre Review. 2006.
Chapbooks & Limited Editions
War Canticles. Vallum Chapbook series No. 34. Montreal: Vallum Society for Arts and
Letters Education, 2022. Poetry. 125 copies.
At Ortona: An Oratorio. One poem plus French translation [A Ortona: Un Oratorio] by
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Robert Paquin and an Italian translation [A Ortona: Oratorio] by Riccardo
Duranti. Roma: Embassy of Canada to Italy, Villa Grandi, Roma, Italia, 2018.
200 copies.
The Denouement of Poet Laureate George: Writings of December 2017. Ottawa:
Ottawa Antiquarian Bookfair, 28 October 2018. 120 copies.
Elegies: Literary and Political, 2016-2017. Ottawa: 37th Ottawa Antiquarian Bookfair,
22 October 2017. 150 copies.
Rollcall/Appel. Ottawa: Canadian Heritage / Patrimoine canadien, 2017. Bilingual. 500
copies.
Selected Canticles. Ottawa: above / ground press, 2012. Poetry. 300 copies.
To the Muse. [Includes 8 poems in Giulio Marra’s Italian translations: “Portenti,”
“Dissertazione sul Mio Nome,” “Linguaggio,” “IV.ii,” “III.iv [Il Poeta e il
Tempo],” “À Edgar Mittelhölzer,” “Autobiografia (II),” and “Testamento.”]
Presented in connection with “George Elliott Clarke: una performance di poesia e
musica, con [musicians] Gionni Di Clemente e Bruno Censori, presentazione di
Marco Fazzini,” Bar Borsa / Panic Jazz Club, Basilica Palladiana, Vicenza, Italy,
September 23, 2012. 50 copies.
Da Una Stanza. [Trans. Marco Fazzini.] Vicenza, Italy: L’Officina arte contemporanea,
September 23, 2012. 50 copies.
Da Una Stanza. [Trans. Marco Fazzini.] Vicenza, Italy: L’Officina arte contemporanea
in occasione della lettura al Teatro Comunale, 16 aprile 2012. 290 copies.
Selected Canticles. Maxville, ON: above/ground press, 2012. 100 copies.
The Gospel of X. Vallum Chapbook series No. 9. Montreal: Vallum Society for Arts and
Letters Education, 2010. Poetry. 200 copies.
Africadian History: An Exhibition Catalogue. Wolfville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 2001.
Poetry. 400 copies.
Blue (II). Included in anthology, Running with Scissors: New Poetry by 19 Young
Writers. Eds. Andy Brown & Meg Sircom. Montréal: Cumulus Press, 2001.
Poetry. 500 copies.
Execution Poems. Wolfville, NS: Gaspereau Press, 2000. Poetry. 66 copies.
Gold Indigoes. Durham, NC: Carolina Wren Press, 2000. Poetry. 500 copies.
Provençal Songs [II]. Ottawa: above / ground press, 1997. Poetry. 150 copies.
Provençal Songs. Ottawa: Magnum Book Store, 1993. Poetry. 30 copies.
Translation
Poeme Incendiare. Trans. Flavia Cosma. Oradea, Romania: Editura Cogito, 2006.
[Poetry]
[Many Kinds of Love: Heavenly, Earthy, and Hellish. Trans. of Whylah Falls.] Trans.
Tong Renshan. Beijing: International Publishing, 2006. [Poetry]
George Elliott Clarke: Poesie e Drammi. [Trans. & Ed.] Giulio Marra. Venezia, Italia:
Studio LT2, 2012. [Poetry]
Screenplay
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One Heart Broken Into Song. Feature Film. Prod: CBC-TV. 1999.
Beatrice Chancy: The Opera. Feature Film. Prod: CBC-TV. 2001.
Stage Productions
Whylah Falls: The Play. Dartmouth NS: Eastern Front Theatre, 1997, 2000; Ottawa ON:
National Arts Centre, 1998, 2000; Venice, Italy: Universite de Venezia, 2002.
Beatrice Chancy: The Play. Toronto ON: Theatre Passe Muraille, 1997.
Beatrice Chancy: The Opera. Toronto ON: Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company,
1998, 1999; Dartmouth NS: Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company, 1999;
Edmonton AB: Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company, 2001.
Québécité: A Jazz Opera. Guelph ON: Guelph Jazz Festival, 2003; Vancouver, BC:
Vancouver Jazz Festival, 2003.
East Coasting, or Make It Beautiful. Toronto, ON: CBC Radio, “Words & Music
Series,” Glenn Gould Theatre, 2004.
Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path. Wolfville, NS: Summer Institute of the Trudeau
Foundation, 2006; Toronto, ON: Africanadian Playwrights Festival, 2006;
Toronto, ON: Harbourfront Centre Corporation, 2007; Halifax, NS: Pier 21
Museum and Mulan Chinese Cultural Centre, 2007; Department of Political
Science, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, 2008.
Québécité: The Play. Ottawa, ON: Pennyworth Productions, 2006.
Québécité: A Jazz Opera. Bethlehem, PA: Moravian College, 2009.
Beatrice Chancy: The Play. Toronto, ON: Tarragon Theatre, 2009.
Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path. Halifax, NS: Vocalypse Productions, 2010.
Beatrice Chancy: The Play. Winnipeg, MB: Aqua Books, 2011.
“Settling Africville.” Halifax, NS: San Family Productions, 2014.
Studies
Africadian Atlantic: Essays on George Elliott Clarke. Ed. Joe Pivato. Toronto: Guernica
Editions, 2012.
Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 459. Ed. Joe Pivato. Farmington Hills, MI:
Gale, 2020.
Recording
George Elliott Clarke: Lush Dreams, Blue Exile. Halifax, NS: Pottersfield Soundtracks,
1994. Tape.
George Elliott Clarke Koiné Opera (GECKO). Vicenza, Italy: The Art Box, 2017. CD.
The Afro-Métis Nation, Constitution. Toronto: The Afro-Métis Nation, 2019. CD.