Remembering Austin Clarke

June 26, 2016

Austin Clarke joined us for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize gala (with Michael Tamblyn, Patrick Crean and Susan Walker) Photo by Tom Sandler

We are very saddened at Austin Clarke’s passing at the age of 81 on June 26, 2016. This is an enormous loss, first and foremost for Clarke’s family and community but also to the wider world of outstanding Canadian literature.

Clarke gave us all greater and deeper understanding through the insights, nuances and empathy that informed what was called immigrant fiction when he wrote it, but is and will stand as a truly powerful voice in global literature. He will be immensely missed, but his influence will long be felt in the new perspectives emerging in Canadian literature today.

We’ve gathered here tributes to and profiles of award-winning Canadian novelist, short story writer and essayist Austin Clarke.

Tom Clarke passes (Nationnews, Barbados, West Indies)

Acclaimed Toronto author Austin Clarke dead at 81
Winner of the Giller Prize for The Polished Hoe, the Barbados-born writer became a member of the Order of Canada in 1998
by Murray Whyte (Toronto Star)

Giller Prize-winning author Austin Clarke dead at 81
by Andrea Baillie (Globe and Mail)

Austin Clarke, Giller winner and civil rights leader, dead at 81
by Conan Tobias (Quill & Quire)

Let all Black People speak this poem: remembering Austin Clarke, 1934–2016
by Steven W. Beattie (Quill & Quire)

Remembering Austin Clarke, author of The Polished Hoe (CBC Radio Q)

Austin Clarke, 1934-2016 (Toronto Public Library)

CanLit trailblazer Austin Clarke led the way for future generations of writers
by Mark Medley (The Globe and Mail)

In memoriam: George Elliott Clarke remembers Austin Clarke
(Now Toronto)

From sit-ins to love-ins, Austin Clarke recalls life in 1960s Toronto (Toronto Star)

Austin Clarke: A writer’s potholed road to success
by Susan Walker (Toronto Star)

Austin Clarke’s “Death of a Panther” (CBC Radio)

After the Giller
Success once eluded Austin Clarke. Now it feels deserved
by Donna Bailey Nurse (Quill & Quire, May 2003)

The Puritan Presents: ‘Membering Austin Clarke, a special summer issue