Nationality Canadian Role Novelist | Name Austin Clarke Period 1960s-present Awards Scotiabank Giller Prize | |
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Nominations Governor General's Award for English-language fiction, James Beard Award for Writing and Literature Books The Polished Hoe, The Meeting point, Growing Up Stupid Under the, The origin of waves, Pig Tails 'n Breadfruit | ||
Austin Ardinel Chesterfield "Tom" Clarke, CM OOnt (July 26, 1934 – June 26, 2016), was a Barbadian novelist, essayist, and short story writer who was based in Toronto, Ontario. Among his notable books are novels such as The Polished Hoe (2002), memoirs including ‘Membering (2015), and two collections of poetry, Where the Sun Shines Best (2013) and In Your Crib (2015).
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Early life and education
Austin Clarke was born in 1934 in St. James, Barbados, where he received his early education in Anglican schools. He taught at a rural school for three years. In 1955 he moved to Canada and attended the University of Toronto for two years.
Career
Clarke was a reporter in the Ontario communities of Timmins and Kirkland Lake before joining the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a freelance journalist. He taught subsequently at several American universities, including Yale University (Hoyt fellow, 1968–70), Duke University (1971–72), and the University of Texas (visiting professor, 1973).
In 1973 he was designated cultural attaché at the Barbadian embassy in Washington, DC. He was later General Manager of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in Barbados (1975–77). Returning to Canada, in 1977 he ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Ontario election. He was writer in residence at Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec (1977), and at the University of Western Ontario (1978). He became a Canadian citizen in 1981. From 1988 to 1993 he served on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
In September 2012, at the International Festival of Authors (IFOA), Clarke was announced as the winner of the $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize "on the merits of his published work and efforts in fostering literary talent in new and aspiring writers". Previous recipients of the award (established in 1984) include: Dionne Brand, Wayson Choy, Christopher Dewdney, Helen Humphreys, Paul Quarrington, Peter Robinson, Seth, Jane Urquhart, and Guy Vanderhaeghe. Clarke was reported as saying: "I rejoiced when I saw that Authors at Harbourfront Centre had named me this year's winner of the Harbourfront Festival Prize. I did not come to this city on September 29, 1959, as a writer. I came as a student. However, my career as a writer buried any contention of being a scholar and I thank Authors at Harbourfront Centre for saving me from the more painful life of the 'gradual student.' It is an honour to be part of such a prestigious list of authors."
Clarke died on June 26, 2016, at the age of 81 in Toronto.