George Elliott Clarke

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George Elliott Clarke (born February 12, 1960) is a Canadian poet and playwright. Born in Windsor Plains, Nova Scotia, he has spent much of his career writing about the black communities of Nova Scotia and served for a time in the African-American Studies department at Duke University. He earned a B.A. honours in English from the University of Waterloo (1984), an M.A. in English from Dalhousie University (1989) and a Ph.D. 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. In 2001 he won the Governor General's Award for poetry for his book Execution Poems.

Clarke's 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 often refers to as Africadia. (See also Acadia.)

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

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

Contents 1 Bibliography 1.1 Poetry 1.2 Plays 1.3 Novels 1.4 Anthologies edited 1.5 Criticism 2 Awards 3 External links

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Poetry

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

[edit] Plays

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

[edit] Novels

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

[edit] Anthologies edited

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

[edit] Criticism

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

[edit] Awards

• Honourable Mention for the 1979 Atlantic Writing Competition (Adult Poetry), Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia.
• First Prize 1981 Atlantic Writing Competition (Adult Poetry), Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia.
• Second Prize in the 1983 Bliss Carman Poetry Award, Banff Centre.
• Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry, Ottawa Independent Writers, 1991.
• Portia White Prize, Nova Scotia Arts Council, 1998.
• Bellagio Centre Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation, NYC, 1998.
• Alumni Achievement Award, University of Waterloo, 1999.
• Governor General's Award for Poetry, 2001, for Execution Poems.
• National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry, 2002.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Achievement Award, Black Theatre Workshop, 2004.
• Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize, 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, 2006.
• Longlisted for the IMPAC Award, 2007, for George and Rue.

[edit] External links

• Brief Bio
• Full list of works
• Book Review: George Elliott Clarke’s George & Rue
• Poet of the Month from CBC Words at Large (February 2007)