Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1960, a seventh-generation Africadian. After studies at University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University and Queen's University, and after stints as a social worker, editor and parliamentary researcher and aide, he accepted a post at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina, where he now lives. But he is first, last, and always a poet.
Awards
Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia, first prize, poetry, 1981.
Bliss Carman Award for Poetry, second prize, 1983.
Archibald Lampman Award, 1991.
Portia White Prize, 1998.
Bellagio Centre Fellowship, 1998.
Governor General's Award for Poetry, 2001
Selected Publications
Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues. Pottersfield Press, 1983.
Whylah Falls. Polestar Press, 1990.
Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems. Pottersfield Press,
1994.
Provençal Songs. (above/ground press, 1997).
Beatrice Chancy. (Polestar Books, 1999).
Selected Anthologies
Fire on the Water: An Anthology of Black Nova Scotia Writing (editor).
2 vols. (Pottersfield Press, 1991-1992).
Eyeing the North Star. (McClelland & Stewart, 1997).
Books in Print
Clarke, George Elliott
Beatrice Chancy. Polestar, 1999.
Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems. Pottersfield Press, 1994. $9.95
ISBN: 0-919001-83-1.
Provençal Songs. above/ground press, 1997. ISBN 0-9682095-7-2.
Whylah Falls. Polestar Press, 1990. $12.95 ISBN: 0-919591-57-4.
Poet in the School
phone: 416-946-3143
Born in Windsor Plains, Nova Scotia, Clarke is the author of critically acclaimed Whylah Falls (1990 & 2000) which received the Archibald Lampman Award, Beatrice Chancy (1999), which is also an acclaimed opera (music by James Rolfe), and a CBC-TV feature film, One Heart Broken into Song (1999), directed by Clement Vergo. Clarke received the Portia White Prize in 1998. His most recent collections are Blue (2001), and Execution Poems (2001). Laureate, Governor-General's Award for Poetry, 2001.
Grade Levels: 9 - 12
Fees: standard
Classroom Approach:
General commentary on African-Canadian history, plus poetry reading. Will lead writing workshops, if asked.