Parliamentary Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke
On November 23, 2017, the Centre for Constitutional Studies at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law will welcome one of Canada's most acclaimed living writers as part of the annual McDonald Lecture Series in Constitutional Studies.
George Elliott Clarke, the celebrated Canadian poet, playwright, and University of Toronto professor who in 2016 was appointed Canada's seventh Parliamentary Poet Laureate, will share his views on how Canada's Constitution could be amended to better reflect the country's modern multicultural character in a talk entitled Toward the Next Round of Constitutional Talks: Revising the Constitution Act, 1982.
"We're delighted to welcome Canada's Parliamentary Poet Laureate and leading voice in Canadian literature as our 150th anniversary McDonald Lecture Series speaker," said UAlberta Law Dean Paul Paton.
"In addition to receiving recognition as one of our country's greatest living poets, George Elliott Clarke is also one of our most important voices on race, ethnicity, social justice and good governance and has made an enormous contribution to our ever-evolving conversation on what it means to be Canadian."
Clarke, a Nova Scotia-born descent of African-American slavery escapees to the province (a community he refers to as "Africadian"), has long been renowned for his politically charged poetry, whose influences have ranged from the music of Bob Dylan and Miles Davis to the oratory of Malcolm X and Pierre Trudeau-all "poet-politicos" in Clarke-speak.
His many honours include the Governor-General's Award for Poetry (2001), the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award (2004), the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize (2005), the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (2009), appointment to the Order of Nova Scotia (2006), appointment to the Order of Canada at the rank of Officer (2008), and eight honorary doctorates. He has also served as Poet Laureate for the City of Toronto.
The first poet to address UAlberta Law as a McDonald Lecturer, Clarke has long stressed the importance of poetry as a vehicle for interpreting a people's culture and charting new potential courses.
"As a poet, it is my job to think through the transcendent meaning of an issue," he said in a Globe and Mail interview, citing poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who famously described poets as the "unacknowledged legislators of the world."
The McDonald Lecture Series is presented by the Centre for Constitutional Studies (CCS) through an endowment to the Faculty of Law in memory of the Hon. David C. McDonald, former Alberta Court of Appeal Justice and longtime UAlberta Law sessional instructor.
Past speakers have included renowned legal philosopher and constitutional scholar Ronald Dworkin (the series' inaugural speaker), Indigenous Law Professor John Borrows, journalist and political commentator David Frum, former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci and former Justice Minister Anne McLellan.
"George Elliott Clarke brings an experienced poet's perspective to the Canadian Constitution," said CCS Executive Director Patricia Paradis.
"It will be refreshing to hear what constitutional changes he recommends, especially given his role this past year as Parliamentary Poet Laureate in Ottawa."
Clarke will speak on Thursday, November 23 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at the Law Centre's McLennan Ross Halls. A wine and cheese social will follow. This event is free and open to the public.