Raised in a Halifax household filled with art, music, dialogue, and social engagement, George Elliott Clarke credits his Africadian heritage (African-American and Mi'qmak origins) for shaping his geographical and historical sense of identity and Atlantic Canada for anchoring him in communal specifics. An expert on African Canadian and African American history and culture, especially that of the Maritime Provinces, Dr. Clarke has compiled the most complete bibliography of African Canadian writing to date. His practice of poetry and politics, in honour of his late parents William Lloyd and Geraldine Elizabeth, has led him to work as an editor, social worker, researcher, journalist, and parliamentary aide.
Inhabiting the Trudeau Foundation's four themes through his work's pro-multiculturalism and anti-racism focus; attentiveness to the political arena; usage of cosmopolitan and internationalist ideas and materials; and respect for nature, Dr. Clarke continues to explore his development as an artist and intellectual. He is currently at work on a variety of compositions: Trudeau: Long March, Shining Path (an opera libretto); I & I (an illustrated poem); The Motorcyclist (a novel); and African/Black Canadian Literature: An ABC's (a collection of academic essays). He also intends to follow in the footsteps of the classical poets by creating an epic poem by 2010.
"I'm just finishing the first year of the Fellowship, but I can say it has literally taken me places I wouldn't have visited otherwise; it has also allowed me to share my work with more audiences in more places; it has also supported my research and my writing. I feel freer to explore my interests and to share them with like-minded others."