The 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and the 7th Parliamentary/Canadian Poet Laureate (2016-17), George Elliott Clarke is a revered artist in song, drama, fiction, screenplay, essays, and poetry. Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1960, Clarke is also a pioneering scholar of African-Canadian literature. A professor of English at the University of Toronto, Clarke has taught at Duke, McGill, the University of British Columbia, and Harvard. He holds eight honorary doctorates, plus appointments to the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer. His recognitions include the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, the National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry, the Premiul Poesis (Romania), the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (US), and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award. Clarke’s work is the subject of Africadian Atlantic: Essays on George Elliott Clarke (2012), edited by Joseph Pivato. But Clarke is also a librettist, and has had a hand in three operas: Beatrice Chancy (composer: James Rolfe), Québécité (composer: dd Jackson), and Trudeau: Long March / Shining Path (composer: dd Jackson).
He’s also released these recordings:
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.
His latest project? Vocals and lyrics for rapper Shad’s song, “Storm.”