Among his best-known works are the Giller Award–winning The Polished Hoe (2002) and his memoir ‘Membering (2015). He returned to Canada and became one of Canadian literature’s most prolific authors and a public voice for Black people in Canada. Novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist, Clarke was born in Barbados, moved to Canada in 1955 and went on to establish Black Studies programs at a number of universities in America. This collection addresses Clarke's marginalization in Canadian literature by demonstrating that his writing on Black diasporic life and the immigrant experience is a foundational, if untold, part of the story of CanLit. 'Membering Austin Clarke reflects on the life and writing of Austin Clarke, whose depictions of Black life in Canada enlarged our understanding of what Canadian literature looks like.ĭespite being one of Canada's most widely published, and most richly awarded writers, Austin Clarke (1934–2016) is not a household name. All He Wanted to Do Was Type / Michael A. Clarke on Clarke / George Elliott Clarke & Paul BarrettĢ9. “Myth Grounded in Truth”: Sound, Light, and the Vertical Imagination in Austin Clarke’s ’MemberingĢ7. Hyphen (for Austin “Tom” Clarke, 1934–2016) / John R. Austin Clarke’s Books / Katherine McKittrickĢ5. Still the British Empire / André ForgetĢ3. There Will Never Be Another Austin Clarke / Patrick CreanĢ2. Do Not Let Them Choose the Fragrance / Austin ClarkeĢ1.

Austin Clarke Love Poem / Cyril DabydeenĢ0. Austin Clarke: Defying the Silence, a Life in Letters / John Harewoodġ9.

“The Wordshop of the Kitchen”: Impressions of Austin Clarke and Paule Marshall / Asha Varadharajanġ8. The Lessons of Austin Clarke / Sonnet L’Abbéġ5.

“These Virtues o’ the Cullinerry Harts”: Talking Food and Politics in the Letters of Austin Clarke, Sam Selvon, and Andrew Salkey / Kris Singhġ1. Sometimes, A Motherless Child: A Double Take / Giovanna Riccioĩ. Editorial Notes for “When He Was Free and Young and He Used to Wear Silks” / Dennis LeeĨ. Burrowing Into the Craft: Editing Austin Clarke / Dennis Leeħ. That Man, That Man-Stories and Confabulations / Austin ClarkeĦ. Only Old Men”: Aging and Misogyny in Austin Clarke’s Later Fiction / Camille Isaacsĥ.

Dear Austin: Why Teaching Your Work Is Difficult / Leslie SandersĤ. On Austin Clarke’s Style / Paul Barrettģ. The Trouble of Intimacy / Rinaldo WalcottĢ.

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