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George Elliott Clarke uses his poetic style inspired by African verse to explore the life of his great-aunt the operatic contralto Portia White, considered the first African Canadian to become an international star.
About the author
Dr. George Elliott Clarke, O.C., O.N.S., F.R.C.G.S., Ph.D., is a native of Windsor, Nova Scotia, and was the Poet Laureate of Toronto, Ontario (2012-2015), where he teaches African-Canadian literature at the University of Toronto. His prize-winning books comprise poetry--
Whylah Falls (1990),
Execution Poems (2000), and
Blues and Bliss (2008)--and a novel,
George & Rue (2004). Also the Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada (2016 & 2017), Clarke authored
Lasso the Wind: Aurelia's Verses and Other Poems (2013), with award-winning illustrations by Susan Tooke. A grand-nephew to Portia White, Clarke became, in 1998, the inaugural recipient of the Government of Nova Scotia's prestigious Portia White Prize for Artistic Achievement. Lara Martina is one of Nova Scotia's contemporary landscape artists, a writer, and illustrator. A Canadian of Mi'kmaw, French, and Italian heritage, she divides her time between Italy and Canada. Born in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts in 1955, Martina was educated at NSCAD University, Mount Saint Vincent University, and The European Graduate School. Martina's research interests include diaspora subjects of eastern Canada; space and time; issues of culture and identity; culture and tradition; history and landscape, and interpretation of cultural identity. Her work, both narrative and landscape, can be found in collections in North America and Europe.
Summary
A stirring, epic poem vibrating with energy and music that spans White’s birth in 1911 and two World Wars.
