George Elliott Clarke Reads Dalhousie University Bicentennial Epic Poem December 6

 George Elliott Clarke (right) and musician Tim Crofts (left). Photo: Dalhousie University.

George Elliott Clarke will read his epic poem written for Dalhousie University’s bicentennial on Thursday, December 6. He will be accompanied by pianist Tim Crofts.

A former Talent Trust scholarship recipient, Clarke was born near the Black Loyalist community of Windsor Plains, Nova Scotia, and grew up in Halifax. 

He holds an Honours B.A. in English from the University of Waterloo, an M.A. in English from Dalhousie University, and a Ph.D. in English from Queen's University. 

He is the inaugural E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. 

In 1998, Clarke was the first recipient of the Nova Scotia Arts Council Portia White Prize. In 2001, he won the Governor General's Award for Poetry for his collection Execution Poems, published by the Gaspereau Press. 

George Elliott Clarke was Canada’s 2016-17 Parliamentary Poet Laureate.

To Tell Dalhousie’s Story: 
Speak a Poem Insurgent / Sound a Piano Insolent!

Thursday, December 6, 2018 
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Dalhousie Art Gallery
6101 University Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Admission is free; all are welcome.

The 65th Annual Student, Staff, Faculty, and Alumni Exhibition follows at 4:00 p.m., which includes Talent Trust scholarship recipient Alice MacLean.

For more information on the poetry reading, visit the event page on Dalhousie University's website.

Congratulations to Shauntay Grant on her Governor General’s Literary Award Nomination

Halifax writer Shauntay Grant is nominated for a
Governor General’s Literary Award  for her book Africville

Shauntay Grant is nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award.

Shauntay’s book Africville, illustrated by Eva Campbell, is nominated in the Young People's Literature-Illustrated Books category.

Africville is nominated alongside At the Pond by Werner Zimmermann; Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes by Wab Kinew and Joe Morse; Ocean Meets Sky by The Fan Brothers; and They Say Blue by Jillian Tamaki.

Africville launched on September 29 at the Africville Museum in Halifax.

Shauntay received a Talent Trust scholarship to support her studies in visual arts. She later switched disciplines and is now a writer and storyteller who teaches creative writing at Dalhousie University. 

As Halifax's third poet laureate, she organized Canada's first national gathering of Canadian poets laureate. 

Shauntay has presented her work at events including Canada’s national Word on the Street festivals, the Vancouver Writers Festival, Toronto's Luminato Festival, Australia's National Young Writers’ Festival, and the Jamaica Poetry Festival. 

Her plays have been presented by 2b theatre, Eastern Front Theatre, and Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal, and b current in Toronto. 

Africville tells the story of a young girl who visits the site of the former community in Halifax and imagines what it was once like: a place of brightly painted homes and children playing throughout the neighbourhood.

Approximately 1,400 Canadian titles were submitted for this year’s Governor General’s Awards. Africville is one of the 70 finalists. The winners are chosen by peer assessment committees.

The Governor General’s Literary Awards are one of Canada's oldest literary awards programs, with total annual prizes of $450,000. Winners each receive $25,000. Non-winning finalists receive $1,000, and the publisher of each winning book receives $3,000 to support promotional activities. 

The program, founded 82 years ago, is currently funded and administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. Winners will be announced on October 30, and the awards will be presented in Ottawa on November 28.

Africville is available to purchase online at Indigo Books and Amazon. To learn more about Shauntay, visit shauntaygrant.com.