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),

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.

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;

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.

PUBLICATIONS

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. 2^nd 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.

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.