Literature: Writers
Aspects of African Canadian Literature
Literature | History | Writers | Children's Literature | Press | Publications | Anthologies
Writers Listed Alphabetically: A-C | D-L | M-R | S-Z
Agnant, Marie-Céline (fiction/poetry)
Books: Balafres (CIDIHCA, 1994); La Dot de Sarah (Remue-ménage, 1995)
Alexis, André (fiction/drama)
Books: Despair and Other Stories of Ottawa (Couch House, 1994); Childhood (McClelland & Stewart, 1998); Lambton, Kent and Other Vistas: A Play (Gutter, 1999)
Biography: André Alexis was born in Trinidad in 1957 and grew up in Canada. His debut novel, Childhood, won the Chapter/Books in Canada First Novel Award, shared the Trillium Award, and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize and the Rogers Communications Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. He lives in Toronto and is at work on his next novel, Asylum, and his first children's novel. In addition, Alexis wrote and hosted Radio Nomad, a 13-episode program that aired on CBC Radio One in January 2004.
Click here for more information.
Allen, Lillian (poetry/children's literature)
Books: Rhythm an' Hardtimes (Domestic Bliss, 1982); The Teeth of the Whirlwind (Black Perspective, 1984); If You See Truth: Poems for Children and Young People (Frontline, 1987); Why Me? (Well Versed, 1991); Nothing But a Hero (Women's Press, 1992); Women Do this Every Day: Selected Poems (Women's Press, 1993); Psychic Unrest (Insomniac, 1999)
Biography: Born in 1951 in Spanish Town, Jamaica and educated in the United States, Allen is best known as a dub poet, and has several recordings (Revolutionary Tea Party, 1986 and Conditions Critical, 1988) as well as collections of her poetry. She has also staged community theatre with youth in the Regent Park area of Toronto, and has co-directed and co-produced a documentary film called Blak Wi Blakk. Allen won the Juno Award for recordings of poetry with music in 1986, and again in 1988. She is a member of the Experts Advisory on the International Cultural Diversity Agenda and an executive member of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Allen is a Professor of Creative Writing at The Ontario College of Art and Design and host of Wordbeat, a nine-episode program on spoken word/performance poetry that aired on CBC Radio One in January 2004.
Alleyne, Vanessa (memoir)
Books: There Were Times I Thought I Was Crazy: A Black Woman's Story of Incest (Sister Vision, 1997)
Anderson, Abbot (poetry)
Books: Psalms of Babylon (Advent, 1972)
Anderson, Hopeton (poetry/drama)
Books: Black Mount (Mondiale, 1975); Out of the Woods (Montreal, 1970); Slips from Grace (Couch House, 1987)
Biography: Born in Montreal, Anderson grew up in Jamaica, returning to Montreal to attend university. Anderson co-edited the anthology, The Body, with David Phillips. He now lives in Vancouver.
Antoine, Yves (poetry)
Books: La Veillée: poèmes (Serge L. Gaston, 1964); Témoin oculaire (Serge Gaston, 1970); Au Gré des heures (Presses Nationales d'Haiti, 1972); Horizon fantôme (Presses Nationales d'Haiti, 1972); Les sabots de la nuit (Gasparo, 1974); Alliage (Gasparo, 1978); Alliage: poésie et prose (Naaman, 1979); Libations pour le soleil: poésie et prose (Naaman, 1985); Chants de la toundra (Naaman, 1985); Séminologie et personnage romanesque chez J.S. Alexix (Balzac, 1994); Jeu de miroirs (Vermillion, 1996); Polyphonie: poésie (Vermillion, 1996); Inventeurs et savants noirs (l'Harmattan, 1998); La Memoire a fleur de peau (David, 2002)
Biography: Born in Port-au-Prince, Antoine has a PhD. in literature from the University of Ottawa and currently teaches at the Collége de l'Outaouais.
Arthurs, Patrick (poetry)
Books: Soul Revolution (Exposition, 1975); Babylon Overboard: Inspired through Emperor Haile Selassie I (Salt & Pepper, 1994)
Badoe, Adwoa (children's literature)
Books: Crabs for Dinner (Sister Vision, 1995); The Queen's New Shoes (Women's Press, 1998); The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse Stories (Groundwood, 2001); and Nana's Cold Days (Groundwood, 2002).
Biography: Badoe was born in Ghana and currently lives in Guelph. She is an educator and African dance instructor with 4 books published in Canada for children and 8 published by Macmillan UK educational press
Click here for more information.
Baganda, Usutha [pseud. of Ralph Campbell] (poetry)
Books: Collections (Westindian Theatre Toronto, 1982)
Bailey, Peter Bliss (poetry)
Books: This Is My Song (Mondaile, 1975) Going Black Home (Concordia and Dawson College, 1978); To the Sky This Time (Upshaw, 1993).
Biography: Bailey was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1953, and his family moved to Montreal when he was nine years old. In 1976 he moved back to Nova Scotia and took a position with the Black United Front. He returned to Montreal in 1977, and in 1982, he formed a Black performance quartet, consisting of two poets and two musicians, called "The New Life Poets." Since 1977 he has worked as a child care worker with disturbed children and teenagers.
Best, Carrie M. (autobiography)
Books: That Lonesome Road: The Autobiography of Carrie Best (Clarion, 1979)
Biography: Dr. Best was born in New Glasgow in 1903. She was active in civil rights issues in New Glasgow. In 1945, Best launched the newspaper The Clarion, which was regarded as the "voice of the coloured Nova Scotia." In 1949, she was also responsible for the issuance of The Negro Citizen newspaper. Both newspapers were well recognized, and The Negro Citizen was circulated nationally.
Black, Ayanna (poetry)
Books: No Contingencies (Williams-Wallace, 1986)
Biography: Born in Jamaica, Black lived in England before migrating to Canada in 1964. She is president of CAN-BAIA, and a founding member of Tiger Lily. Black has edited three anthologies of African Canadian writing: Voices: Canadian Writers of African Descent; Fiery Spirits: A Collection of Short Fiction and Poetry; and Fiery Spirits and Voices: Canadian Writers of African Descent. Her work has been published in SP/ELLes, Women & Words, and Fuse magazine.
Black Katt [Robert O. Brown] (poetry)
Books: Black Katt Book of Poetry Vol. I: The One That Brings Bad Luck (Black Katt Entertainment, 1995)
Biography: Black Katt is a Toronto musician and poet.
Borden, George A. (poetry)
Books: Canaan Odyssey: A Poetic Account of the Black Experience in North America (Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, 1988); Footprints--Images and Reflections (History and Poetry) (Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, 1993)
Borden, Walter (drama)
Books: Tightrope Time (1986)
Biography: Borden was born in 1942, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Upon graduating from Acadia University and Nova Scotia Teacher's College in 1964, he taught there for three years, prior to studying acting in New York City. He returned to Halifax in 1970 where he established himself as a writer, actor, and community worker. He has performed in numerous plays as well as performed his one-man show "Tightrope Time", from Vancouver to Amsterdam. He is the winner of the 1989 Outstanding Theatre Achievement Award from the Nova Scotia Drama League.
Boyd, George Elroy (drama)
Books: Shine Boy (Produced by Neptune Theatre, 1988); Consecrated Ground (Screenplay, 1990); Gideon Blues (Produced by Upstart Theatre, 1990); Sweet Train Gonna Come (Screenplay, 1991); Consecrated Ground (Blizzard, 1999); Wade in the Water (Produced by Black Theatre Workshop, 2003).
Biography: Playwright and journalist, Boyd was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1952 and currently lives in Montreal where he is working on a new play, Rodier. A journalist, he has also written two plays and two screenplays, and is also involved professionally in broadcast media. He is the founder of the Canadian Black Theatre Society. In 1989, he won the Atlantic Journalism Award for radio documentary. Consecrated Ground, a testament to the collective memory of Africville, was nominated for the Govenor General's Award - Drama, in 2000.
Braithwaite, Diana (poetry/screenplay/theatre)
Books: Babylon Down (OISE, 1974); Martha and Elvira: A One-Act Plan (Sister Vision, 1993)
Biography: Canadian-born Braithwaite has been involved in Black Theatre since the early 1970s. She attended the University of California, and now works in film and theatre.
Braithwaite, J. Ashton (poetry/prose)
Books: A Black British Soldier (21st Century, 1969); Bitter Soul (21st Century, 1970); Souls in the Wilderness (21st Century, 1970); Niggers...This is Canada ( 21st Century, 1971); The Grassroot Philosopher (21st Century, 1977)
Biography: Born in Trinidad, Brathwaite grew up in England and served in the British Army in the Middle East. He now lives in Toronto.
Braithwaite, Lawrence (fiction)
Books: Wigger (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1995); Ratz are Nice (PSP) (Alyson, 2000).
Biography: Wigger won the Emerging Writers Competition. Braithwaite lives in Victoria, B.C.
Brand, Dionne (poetry/fiction/film/essays)
Books: 'Fore Day Morning (Khoisan Artists, 1978); Earth Magic (Kids Can, 1979. Rpt. Earth Magic: Poetry for Young People Sister Vision, 1983, 1993); Primitive Offensive (Williams-Wallace, 1982) Winter Epigrams: & Epigrams to Ernesto Cardenal in Defence of Claudia (Williams-Wallace,1983); Chronicles of a Hostile Sun (Williams-Wallace, 1984); San Souci and Other Stories (Williams-Wallace, 1988; Women's Press, 1989; Firebrand, 1989; Firefly, 1989); No Language is Neutral (Couch House, 1990) Bread out of Stone: Recollections, Sex, Recognitions, Dreaming, Politics (Couch House, 1994; 1998); Grammar of Dissent: Poetry and Prose by Claire Harris, M. Nourbese Philip and Dionne Brand (Goose Lane, 1994); In Another Place, Not Here: A Novel (Knopf Canada, 1996); Land to Light On (McClelland & Stewart, 1997); Vintage Book of International Lesbian Fiction (Vintage, 1999); At the Full and Change of the Moon (Grove/Atlantic, 2000); A Map to the Door of No Return (Doubleday, 2001); Thirsty (McClelland & Stewart, 2002), Inventory (McClelland & Stewart, 2006.), Luce Ostinata = Tenacious Light (Longo, 2007), Fierce Departures (Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2009), Ossuaries (McClelland & Stewart, 2010).
Biography: Brand was born in 1953 in Guayguayare, Trinidad. In 1970, she emigrated to Toronto, attended the University of Toronto (B.A.) and Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (M.A.). Well known as a writer, Brand has published six books of poetry. No Language is Neutral was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award in 1990. Brand won the Govenor-General's Award for Poetry and the Trillum Award for Literature in 1997 for Land to Light On. Her book of poetry, thirsty, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2003, nominated for the Trillum Book Award, and won the Pat Lowther Memorial Award in 2003. As well, she has a collection of short stories, one of essays, and a novel. She has also made four documentary films, published a collection of essays on the history of Black Women in Canada, and co-authored (with Krisantha Sri Bhaggiydatta) a collection of interviews, Rivers Have Sources, Trees Have Roots: Speaking of Racism. Her work is widely anthologized. Brand is also well known for her work as a community activist, and particularly her presence in Grenada during the American invasion. Her work in the Black, women's and lesbian communities, inform all her writing. Brand was a professor at University of Guelph from 1992 to 1994 and was writer-in-residence at UofG in 2003-2004. She has been on faculty at University of Guelph since 2005.
Click here for more information.
Breon, Robin (drama/children's literature)
Books: The African Roscius: Being the Life and Times of Ira Aldridge (Playwrights Union of Canada, 1987); The Story of Mary Ann Shadd (Carib-Can, 1988) with Vera Cudjoe; The Story of John Ware (Carib-Can, 1994) with Vera Cudjoe
Brown, Rosemary (autobiography)
Books: Being Brown: A Very Public Life (Ballantine, 1990)
Biography: Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Brown came to Canada in 1951 to attend McGill University in Montreal. She was the first black woman to be hold a seat in the Canadian legislature. Brown also occupied the post of Chief Commissioner of the Order of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She was an advocate of human rights and justice for people of all ethnicities and races. Rosemary Brown died in 2003.
Browning, Janisse [Gloria Janisse Browning-Leveque] (poetry)
Books: BikerTrucker (Wave7, 1994)
Cadet, Maurice (poetry)
Books: Turbulences (Sagamie/Quebec, 1989); Haute dissidence (écrits des Forges, 1991); Chalè piman: pwezi kreyòl (poèmes creoles) (Le Signet, 1990); Itinéraires d'un enchantement (écrits des Forges, 1992); Réjouissances (écrits des Forges, 1994); L'Illusoire éternité de l'été (écrits des Forges, 1996)
Callender, Ophelia (poetry)
Books: The Orphan Within (Laureson, 1995); Passing for Gold: A Collection of Poems (Laureson, 1996)
Civil, Jean (poetry)
Books: Entre deux pays: recueil de poèmes (Les éditions Sherbrooke, 1979); Au bout l'abîme (Margelle, 1985)
Clarke, Austin (fiction/autobiography)
Books: The Survivors of the Crossing (McClelland-Stewart, 1964); Amongst Thistles and Thorns (McClelland-Stewart, 1965, 1974, 1984); The Meeting Point (Macmillan, 1967; Little, Brown, 1972); When He Was Free and Young and Used to Wear Silks (Anansi, 1971; Little, Brown, 1973); Storm of Fortune (Little, Brown, 1973); The Bigger Light (Little, Brown, 1975); The Prime Minister (General, 1977; Routledge &K. Paul, 1978; Paperjacks,1978; Exile Editions, 1994); Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack: A Memoir (McClelland & Stewart, 1980); When Women Rule: Stories (McClelland & Stewart, 1985); Nine Men Who Laughed (Penguin, 1986); Proud Empires (Gollancz, 1986; Rpt. Viking-Penguin, 1988); In This City (Exile Editions, 1992); There Are No Elders (Exile Editions, 1993); A Passage Back Home: A Personal Reminiscence of Samuel Selvon (Exile Editions, 1994); The Origin of Waves (McClelland & Stewart, 1997); Growing up Stupid Under the Union Jack, A Memoir (Vintage, 1998); The Question (McClelland & Stewart, 1999); Pigtails 'n' Breadfruit: The Rituals of Slave Food, A Barbadian Memoir (Random House, 2000); The Polished Hoe (Thomas Allen, 2002); Choosing His Coffin: The Best Short Stories of Austin Clarke (Thomas Allen, 2003).
Biography: Born in Barbados, Clarke came to Toronto in 1955 where he attended Trinity College and the University of Toronto. He is the first Black writer to achieve prominence in Canada, and has been highly inflential, particularly for the generation of Caribbean-born writers who began working in the 1970s. He has been visiting professor or writer in residence at many universities, among them Yale, Duke and the University of Western Ontario. Primarily a writer of fiction, he has also worked as a journalist and radio broadcaster. Clarke is co-winner of the 2003 Trillium Book Award and winner of the 2003 Giller Prize and the 2003 Commonwealth Prize for Best Book.
Archival material at McMaster University.
Clarke, George Elliott (poetry)
Books: Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues (Pottersfield, 1983); Whylah Falls (Polestar, 1990, 2000); Provencal Songs (Magnum Book Store, 1993); Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems, 1978-1993 (Pottersfield, 1994); Provencal Songs II (Above/ground, 1997); Whylah Falls: The Play (Playwrights Canada, 1999, 2000); Beatrice Chancy (Polstar Books, 1999); Gold Indigoes (Carolina Wren, 2000); Execution Poems (Gaspereau, 2001); Blue (Raincoat, 2001); Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature (UofT Press, 2002)
Biography: A seventh-generation Nova Scotian, George Elliott Clarke was born in 1960 in Windsor Plans, Nova Scotia. He is known as a poet, as well as for his two-volume anthology of Black Writing from Nova Scotia, Fire in the Water. Volume One contains spirituals, poety sermons, and accounts from 1789 to the mid-twentieth century; Volume Two collects the work of the Black Cultural Renaissance in Nova Scotia, which, in Clarke's words, "speaks to people everywhere about overcoming hardships and liberating the spirit." Currently on faculty at Duke University, he is now writing both a play and an opera on slavery in Nova Scotia, a reformulation of Shelley's The Cenci. He has won many awards including the 1981 Prize for Adult Poetry from the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia, he was the 1983 first runner-up for the Bliss Carman Award for Poetry at the Banff Centre School of Arts and 1991 winner of the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry from the Ottawa Independent Writers.
Compton, Wayde (fiction)
Books: 49th Parallel Psalm (Advance Editions/Arsenal Pulp, 1999); Bluesprint: Black British Columbian Literature and Orature (Arsenal Pulp, 2001)
Biography: Compton lives in Vancouver and is at work on another book.
Cooper, Afua (poetry/children's literature)
Books: Breaking Chains (Weelahs, 1984); The Red Caterpillar on College Street (Sister Vision, 1989); Memories Have Tongue (Sister Vision, 1993); Utterances and Incantations: 12 Female Dub Poets From the Black Diaspora (Sister Vision Press, 1999)
Biography: Cooper has a strong background in the Performing Arts and has recorded her poetry. Jamaican-born, Cooper immigrated to Canada in 1980. She has a Ph.D. in history at the University of Toronto. Cooper is co-editor of We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African-Canadian Women's History.
Click here for more information.
Crail, Archie (fiction/drama)
Books: Exile (Blizzard Publishing, 1990) The Bonus Deal (Coteau Books, 1992)
Biography: Crail was born in Paarl, South Africa and emigrated to Canada in 1980. His plays have been produced by Twenty-Fifth Street Theatre (Saskatoon) and Wheatland Theatre. Crail now lives in Regina. In 1992 she was nominated for a Governor General's Award.
Creider, Jane Tapsubei (fiction/autobiography)
Books: Two Lives: My Spirit and I (Women's Press, 1986) The Shrunken Dream (Women's Press, 1992)
Cromwell, Liz (poetry)
Books: Canadian Jungle Tea: Poems (Khoisan Artists, 1972); Awake Sweet Agony (WACACRO, 1976)
Biography: Born in Trinidad in 1945, Cromwell studied in the U.S. before moving to Toronto. She was for many years writer and associate editor for Contrast, a widely circulated Black community newspaper. Cromwell has edited several anthologies, including: One Out of Many: A Collection of Writings by 21 Black Women in Ontario; Title Unknown: Writings by Ontario Women; Talking Dragline: Poems; and The River Between.
Cuevas, Ernesto (fiction)
Books: Some Friends of Mine (Williams-Wallace, 1986)
Biography: Born in New Jersey, and raised in Boston, Cuevas moved to Canada in 1945. After a return to the U.S., he settled in Montreal. He is known for his television and radio plays for the CBC.
Darbasie, Nigel (poetry)
Books: A Land of Many Voices Last Crossing: Poems (Nidar, 1988); A Map of the Island (Nidar, 1988)
Biography: In 1969 Darbasie moved to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. Darbasie's works have been broadcast on radio stations in Alberta, featured on the Shaw Cable Television Network and on Dream Seekers, a CBC-TV Series.
Déluy, José (poetry)
Books: Hilarité et morosité (J. Déluy, 1973); Maitre Maçon (Cercle littérature ésotérique, 1975); Le Vent tourne: poésie (Déluy, 1992)
Des Rosiers, Joël (poetry)
Books: Métropolis Opéra: poèmes (Triptyque, 1987); Tribu: poésie (Triptyque, 1990); Savanes: poème (Triptyque, 1993)
D'Oyley, Enid (fiction/children's literature/folklore)
Books: Between Sea and Sky (Williams-Wallace, 1979); Animal Fables and Other Tales Retold (Williams-Wallace, 1982); The Bridge of Dreams (Williams-Wallace, 1984)
Biography: Born in Jamaica, D'Oyley attended the University of Toronto, where she completed an M.Phil. in Spanish. She is a bibliographer at the University of Toronto Robarts Library.
Edugyan, Esi (fiction)
Books: The Second Life of Samuel Tyne (Knopf, 2004)
Biography: Edugyan was raised in Calgary and has had work published in Best New American Voices, which is edited by Joyce Carol Oates. Edugyan currently lives in Victoria, B.C.
Elliott, Lorris (fiction/drama)
Books: Coming for to Carry: A Novel in Five Parts (Williams-Wallace, 1982); "A Li'lle Bit o' Somet'ing" (1978) "How Now Black Man: Part 4--the Final Act" (Theatre Centaur) "Holding Firm the Centre" (Theatre Fountainhead)
Biography: Born in Tobago, where he taught high school, Elliott came to Canada in 1959. After completing his Ph.D., he joined the faculty of McGill University. He is also an actor and playwright. As a scholar, he compiled two of the major bibliographies of Black writers in Canada and edited the anthology Other Voices: Writings by Blacks in Canada in 1985.
Elwin, Rosamund (children's literature)
Books: Asha's Mums (Women's Press, 1990); The Moonlight Hide & Seek Club in the Pollution Solution (Women's Press, 1992)
Biography: Elwin has co-edited two anthologies: Getting Wet: Tales of Lesbian Seductions and Tangled Sheets: Stories and Poems of Lesbian Lust and has edited two anthologies: Countering the Myths: Lesbians Write About the Men in Their Lives and Tongues on Fire: Caribbean Lesbian Lives and Stories.
Étienne, Gérard (poetry/prose)
Books: Lettre À Montréal (L'ésterel, 1966); Dialogue avec mon Ombre (éditions Francophones du Canada, 1972); La Nègre Crucifié: Récit (éditions Francophones & Nouvelle Optique, 1974; Balzac, 1994); Un Ambassadeur macoute À Montréal (Nouvelle Optique, 1979); Cri pour ne pas crever de honte (Nouvelle Optique, 1982); Une Femme muette (Nouvelle Optique, 1983); La Reine Soleil levée: récit (Guerin, 1987); La Pacotillie: roman (Héxagone, 1991); La Charte des crépuscules: oeuvres poétiques, 1960-1980 (Acadie, 1993); La romance en do mineur de Maitre Clo (Balzac, 2000); Vous n'etes pas seul (Editions Balzac, 2001)
Biography: Born in Haïti, étienne was a member of the Haitian army's Aviation Corps, where he was a meteorologist; later he worked as a journalist. In 1964, he went into exile in Canada after being imprisoned and tortured under the Duvalier regime. In Canada he worked as a reporter for Métro Express and Quartier Latin, and as an editor for Le Matin and Le Voilier. A professor of journalism and linguistics at the Université de Moncton, étienne is the author of eighteen books (poetry, novels and essays) which have been translated into five languages, including Russian, Spanish and German. He is also a well-published scholar.
Foster, Cecil (fiction)
Books: No Man in the House (Random House, 1991; Vintage, 1993); Sleep On, Beloved (Random House, 1995); A Place Called Heaven: The Meaning of Being Black in Canada (HarperCollins, 1996); Island Wings: A Memoir (HarperCollins, 1998); Slammin' Tar: A Novel (Vintage Canada); Dry Bone Memories (Key Porter Books, 2001)
Biography: Originally from Barbados, Foster has worked as a reporter for the Toronto Star, a business reporter for the Globe and Mail and as a senior editor for the Financial Post. His other credits include being a writer for CBS radio and television, as well as for several magazines.
Francois, Ruben (poetry)
Books: Confessions: One Blues and Rapssodies of a Black Immigrant (Francois, n.d.); My Soul in Tears and Other Collected Poems (Spare Change?, 1972); The Scavengers and Other New Collected Poems (Spare Change?, 1972)
Goddard, Horace (poetry/children's literature)
Books: Rastaman: Poems for Leonta (AFO, 1982); The Long Drums (AFO, 1986) The Awakening and Song of the Antilles (AFO, 1988); A Dog Named Sputnik (AFO, 1993); Phoebus and the Crow (AFO, 1993); Paradise Revisited (Winston-Derek, 1996); Scythe, 1997)
Biography: After teaching school in his native Barbados, Goddard emigrated to Canada. He completed his university education at Concordia, and graduate work at McGill and the University of Montreal.
Gousse, Edgard (poetry)
Books: Antilles-2: Croisade pour un paradis-négre: poémes (Edgard Gousse, 1981); Cieux verts pour la disapora: poèmes (Edgardjsthgousse, 1981); Mémoires du vent (Norôit, 1993)
Green, Truman (fiction)
Books: A Credit to Your Race: A Novel (Simple Thoughts, 1974)
Grizzle, Stanley George (autobiography)
Books: A Long Struggle: The Story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Canada: Personal Reminiscences of Stanley G. Grizzle (Umbrella, 1997)
Harris, Claire (poetry)
Books: Translations into Fiction (Fiddlehead and Goose Lane, 1984); Fables from the Women's Quarters (Williams-Wallace, 1984; Goose Lane, 1995); Travelling to Find a Remedy (Fiddlehead and Goose Lane, 1986); The Conception of Winter (Williams-Wallace, 1989; Goose Lane, 1995); Drawing Down a Daughter (Goose Lane, 1992); Dipped in Shadow (Goose Lane, 1996); She (Goose Lane, 2000)
Biography: A poet and literary editor, Claire Harris was born in Trinidad in 1937, pursued her university education at University College, Dublin and her education degree at University of the West Indies, Jamaica. In 1966, Harris emigrated to Canada, and taught in the Calgary Catholic school system until her retirement in 1994. In 1974-75, she read mass media and communications at the University of Nigeria, Lagos, and in 1975, began to write. From 1981-1989, Harris served as poetry editor at the literary magazine Dandelion, and from 1984-1987, as managing editor of blue buffalo, an Alberta literary journal which she helped to found. Her poetry has appeared in numerous literary magazines and anthologies. Harris has read her poetry in Germany, Brazil and India, as well as across Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean. Fables from the Women's Quarters won a Commonwealth Prize, and Drawing Down a Daughter was a finalist for a Governor General's Award. In 1995, she was invited to record her poetry for the Library of Congress. She has won several awards, including: 1985 Commonwealth Prize, Americas Region; the 1987 Writer's Guild of Alberta Award for poetry; the Alberta Culture Poetry Prize 1990; and the Alberta Culture Special Award 1992. Harris co-edited the anthology Kitchen Talk: Contemporary Women's Prose and Poetry. She was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for poetry.
Haughton, Devon (poetry)
Books: Roots an' Culture (Domestic Bliss, 1983)
Head, Harold (poetry)
Books: Bushman's Brew (Goathair, 1974)
Biography: Born in South Africa, Harold Head currently lives in Toronto. He is the publisher of Khoisan Artist Books, a series that he produced for teaching Third World Literature in Canadian Schools. Head is editor of the anthology Canada in us Now: The First Anthology of Black Poetry and Prose in Canada. He is also an accomplished poet.
Henry, Gale (poetry/children's literature)
Books: Granny & Me (Women's Press, 1994); Grandpa's Garden (Women's Press, 1995)
Heydorn, Bernard Leon (fiction)
Books: Walk Good Guyana Boy (Learning Improvement Centre, 1994); Carnival Girl (Learning Improvement Centre, 1996)
Hill, Lawrence (fiction/children's literature)
Books: Some Great Thing (Turnstone, 1992); Trials and Triumphs: The Story of African-Canadians (Umbrella, 1993); Des grandes choses: roman, trans. Robert Paquin (Blé, 1995); Women of Vision:The Story of the Canadian Negro Women's Association (Umbrella, 1996); Any Known Blood (HarperPerennial, 1997); Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada (HarperFlamingo, 2001)
Biography: Lawrence Hill lives in Oakville, Ontario. He has worked as a reporter for the Globe and Mail, and the Winnipeg Free Press. His poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous Canadian journals. Hosein, Clyde (fiction), The Killing of Wilson and Other Stories (London Magazine Press, 1980.)
Ishmael, John A. (fiction)
Books: The Black Bug: The Genetic Bomb Has Arrived (National Publishing, 1991)
Jacob, Bianca (drama)
Books: "Man You Mus'" (Playwrights Canada, 1996)
Jacob, Rayda (fiction)
Books: The Middle Children (Second Story Press, 1994)
Jacques, Maurice (poetry/fiction)
Books: Le Miroir: poésie (Naaman, 1977); L'Ange du diable: contre haïtien (Naaman, 1979); Les Voix closes: florilège (Naaman, 1980)
Jean, Fayolle (poetry)
Books: Tenue de ville: poésie (Cimage Québec, 1991)
Jones, Bernice (children's literature)
Books: The Adventures of Tom, the Cat Next Door (Lugus, 1993)
Joseph, Clifton (poetry)
Books: Metropolitan Blues (Domestic Bliss, 1983)
Biography: Jamaican-born, Joseph is a well-known Toronto area personality. He performs frequently both solo and with a band, one of the innovators working today in the dub poetry form. He is also the host of Toronto TVO program on the arts, Imprint. Joseph has worked for several television stations on a variety of programs, including Canada AM and The National. His writings have appeared in many anthologies, and he has recorded an album, Oral Trans/missions.
Kabamba, Maguy (fiction)
Books: La Dette coloniale: roman (Humanitas, 1995)
Kauss, Saint-John [John Nelson] (poetry)
Books: Ombres du Quercy: poèmes (Nelson, 1981); Au Filin des coeurs (Nelson, 1981); Zygoème, ou Chant d'amour dans le brouillard (Kauss, 1983); Pages fragiles: poémes (Humanits Nouvelle Optique, 1991); Testamentaire: poèmes (Humanitas Nouvelle Optique, 1993); Territories: poèmes (Humanitas, 1995); Tarâmul copilarei / Territoire de l'enfance: Poemes in româneste de Andrei Stoiciu (Humanitas and Editura Libra, 1996)
Kauss, Saint-Valentin [Valentino Nelson] (poetry)
Books: Du Sommet de la pente douce au pied de la pente raide (Cercle littérature ésotérique, 1980); Au Verso de mes déchirures (Nelson, 1981); Gants du lendemain: poésies '80 (Nelson, 1981); --et puis dans sa fureur, le vent: poèmes '82 (Kauss, 1983); Mille nuits de grève intérieur (Choucoune, 1989); Oracles du visible: poèmes (Humanitas Nouvelle Optique, 1992); Cinq grandes stances par-dessus bord jetées: poèmes (Humanitas, 1996)
Keens-Douglas, Ricardo (children's literature/drama)
Books: The Nutmeg Princess (Annick, 1992); Le Mystère de l'île aux épices trans. Raymonde Longval (Annick, 1992); La Diablesse and the Baby: A Caribbean Folktale (Annick, 1994); Freedom Child of the Sea (Annick, 1995); Grandpa's Visit (Annick Press, 1996)
Biography: Born in Grenada, Keens-Douglas is one of Canada's best-known stage and radio personalities. He now works primarily as a writer and as a storyteller, performing all over Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean. For two years (1991-1992) he created and hosted CBC Radio's storytelling show "Cloud 9." Keens-Douglas lives in Toronto. His awards include the 1991 Sterling Award nomination for Best Touring Production.
Kennedy, Cyril J. (poetry)
Books: The Gift (Mondiale, 1981)
Laferrière, Dany (fiction)
Books: Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer (VLB, 1985); How to Make Love to a Negro: A Novel, trans. David Homel (Couch House, 1985); éroshima (VLB, 1987); Eroshima, trans. David Homel (Couch House, 1987, 1991); L'Odeur du café: récit (VLB, 1991); An Aroma of Coffee, trans. David Homel (Couch House, 1991, 1993); Le Goût des jeunes filles: roman (VLB, 1992); Cette Grenade dans la main du jeune Nègre est-elle une arme ou un fruit?: Roman (VLB,1993); Dining With the Dictator, trans. David Homel (Couch House Press, 1994); Why Must a Black Writer Write About Sex?, trans. David Homel (Coach House, 1994); Cronique de la dérive douce (VLB, 1994); Pays sans chapeau (Lanctôt, 1996); La chair du maître (Lanctôt, 1997); Le charme des après-midi sans fin (Lanctôt, 1997); Dans l'oeil du cyclone (Lanctôt, 1999); Le cri des oiseaux foux (Lanctôt, 2000); Je suis fatigué (Les librairies initiales, 2000)
Biography: Laferrière is one of Canada's best known recent novelists. Originally from Haïti, where he worked as a journalist during the Duvalier regime, he was forced into exile in 1978, as his life was in great danger there. Laferrière won the Prix Carbet de la Caraibe for L'Odeur de café and the Prix Carbet des Lyceens for Le Cri des oiseaux fous. His works have been made into films and translated into numerous languages. He splits his time between Montreal and Miami.
Laforest, Jean-Richard (poetry)
Books: Le Divan des alternances (Nouvelle Optique, 1978)
Lawrence, Trevor (poetry)
Books: Hey Lickle Bwoy (Prairie View, 1996)
Legagneur, Serge (poetry)
Books: Textes interdits (Estérel, 1966); Textes en croix (Nouvelle Optique, 1978); Le Crabe (ésterel, 1981); Inaltéralbe (Norôit, 1983); Textes muets (Norôit, 1987); Glyphes (équateur, 1989); Poémes choisis, 1961-1997 (Norôit, 1997)
Biography: Born in Haïti in 1937, Legagneur has lived in Quebec since 1965 and has degrees from l'Université de Montréal. Poémes choisis, 1961-1997 was shortlisted for the Govenor General's Award in 1997.
Lewis, [Thelma] Theresa (fiction/poetry)
Books: Caribbean Folk Legends (Williams-Wallace, 1989); Things Elusive (Williams-Wallace, 1990); The Yarn Spinner (Williams-Wallace, 1992)
Lochan, Dick (fiction/poetry)
Books: "Doh Make Joke": Caribbean Dialect (We Lingo, 1987); "Fuh True?": Dialect Writings of Dick Lochan (We Lingo, 1989)
Loeffelholz, Jocelyn (fiction/poetry)
Books: Portraits (Commoners', 1988); The Evolution (Boyd McRubie, 1989); Snakes, Ladders, and Skyways: A Book of Poems and Illustrations (Legas, 1993)
Longuefosse, Mozart-F. (poetry)
Books: Pages triangulaires: poésie (Des Intouchables, 1994)
Louis, Michel Salmador (poetry/children's literature)
Books: Pour la germination des graines: poèmes en français et en créole (Naaman, 1982); Regards de jeunes sur le racisme: des dessins qui parlent (Institut de recherche et de formation interculturelles de Quebec)
Maart, Rozena (poetry/fiction)
Books: Talk About It! (Williams-Wallace, 1990); The Absence of the Knowledge of White Consciousness in Contemporary Feminist Theory, or, Consciousness, Knowledge and Morality (Awomandla Publishers, 1999); Talk About It! From District Six to Lavender Hill (Awomandla, 2000); The Politics of Consciousness: The Consciousness of Politics. Volume One. The Interrogation of Writing (Awomandla, 2004)
Biography: Maart was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She has lived in exile in London, Columbia and, since 1989, Canada. Her poetry has been published internationally. Maart lives in Guelph and is currently working on Volume Two of The Politics of Consciousness: The Consciousness of Politics and A Black Consciousness Reader.
Maguire, Dianne (fiction)
Books: Dry Land Tourist and Other Stories (Sister Vision, 1991)
Mandiela, Ahdri Zhina (poetry)
Books: Speshal Rikwes (Sister Vision, 1985) with Catherine Glen;No Problems Here (Prod. Toronto: Black Theatre Canada, 1990); Dark Diaspora--in DUB: A Dub Theatre Play (Sister Vision, 1991); First and Last (recording)
Biography: Mandiela is a well-known Toronto dub poet and performance artist/dancer.
Mars, Frantz (fiction)
Books: Trajectoire poétique (Déluy, 1988); Les Fruits de la passion: poèmes (Edisyon Lagomatik, 1990); Paroles intimes: poèmes (Humanitas, 1995)
Mathieu, Marie-Soeurette (poetry/fiction/children's literature)
Books: [as M. Soeurette Mathieu Resilard] Poèmes d'autrefois et Fêlures (n.p., 1976); Lueurs; et, Quinze poèmes d'éveil (Lagomatik, 1991); Pagaille dans la ville (Humanitas, 1995); Ardemee (Humanities, 1997); L'Amour en exil (CIDIHCA, 2000); Double choc pour Mélanie (CIDIHCA, 2002)
Biography: Mathieu began her writing career in the United States. She currently lives in Montreal and has a B.A. in sociology from l'Université de Montréal À Québec; and a degree from Concordia University.
Mayr, Suzette (poetry/fiction)
Books: Zebra Talk (disOrientation, 1991); Moon Honey (NeWest, 1995); The Widows (NeWest, 1998)
Biography: Moon Honey was shortlisted for the Writers Guild of Alberta Best First Book and Best Novel prizes. The Widows was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book in the Canadian-Caribbean region. Mayr is past president of the Writers Guild of Alberta and is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the University of Calgary where she was the 2002-2003 Markin-Flanagan writer-in-residence. Mayr co-edited The Broadview Anthology of Short Fiction which was published in 2004 and is currently working on her third novel, scheduled for publication in fall 2004.
Mazebedi, Judge (poetry)
Books: Chicken Cries Out (Meckler & Deahl, 1995)
McTair, Roger (drama/poetry/film)
Books: The Chain (1972) Is the Carnival Over (1972) One Flight Up Two Flights Down (1974); Children are Not the Problem (Full Frame Film and Video Distribution, 1991); Jane Finch Again (Prieto-McTair Productions, 1997); Journey to Justice (National Film Board of Canada, 2000)
Biography: McTair was born in Trinidad. He came to Canada in 1971, and lives in Toronto. He is a poet, documentary filmmaker and playwright. His many awards include: 1973 Second prize, Canadian Playwriting Competition, Ottawa Little Theatre; 1973 Honourable Mention, Canadian Playwriting Competition, Ottawa Little Theatre; 1974 Honourable Mention, Canadian Playwriting Competition, Ottawa Little Theatre; and the 2001 Reel Black Award for Best Documentary for Journey to Justice.
McWatt, Tessa (fiction)
Books: Out of My Skin (Cormorant, 1998); Dragons Cry (Riverbank, 2000); There's No Place Like (MacMillan, 2004); This Body (HarperCollins, 2004)
Biography: McWatt has taught creative writing and literature in both Canada and London. She is currently producing a film for which she wrote the script, based on the novel To The Wedding, by John Berger. Dragons Cry was nominated for the 2001 Governor General's Award and the City of Toronto Book Awards. McWatt resides in Toronto.
Miguna, Miguna (poetry/fiction)
Books: Songs of Fire (AV, 1994); Afrika's Volcanic Song (AV, 1995); Toes Have Tales (AV, 1995)
Biography: Miguna currently resides in Toronto. He published a collection of essays entitled Disgraceful Osgoode (AV, 1994).
Mollel, Tololwa (children's literature)
Books: The Orphan Boy (Oxford UP, 1990; Rpt. The Orphan Boy: A Maasai Story Clarion, 1991; Rpt. The Orphan Boy (Stoddart, 1995); Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper!: A Maasai Tale (Oxford UP, 1991; Clarion, 1992; Stoddart, 1994); A Promise to the Sun: An African Story (Little, Brown, 1992); The Princess Who Lost Her Hair (Troll, 1992); The King and the Tortoise (Lester, 1993); The Flying Tortoise: An Igbo Tale (Oxford UP, 1994); Big Boy (Stoddart, 1995); Ananse's Feast: An Ashanti Tale (Clarion, 1996); Kele's Secret (Stoddart, 1997); Dume's Roar (Stoddart, 1997); Shadow Dance (Clarion, 1998); Rhino's Boy: A Maasai Legend (Outriggers, 1998); Kitoto the Mighty (Stoddart, 1998); My Rows and Piles of Coins (Clarion, 1999); Song Bird (Clarion, 1999)
Biography: Mollel was born in Tanzania. A storyteller and children's writer, Mollel teaches writing and storytelling in libraries and schools across Alberta. He won the 1990 Governor General's Award for illustration.
Montague, Masani (fiction)
Books: Dread Culture: A Rastawoman's Story (Sister Vision, 1994)
Moodie, Andrew (drama)
Books: Riot (Scirocco, 1997); Oui (premier at Blythe Centre for the Arts, 1998); A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women (Scirocco, 1999); The Lady Smith (Blizzard, 2000)
Biography: Born in Ottawa in 1967, Moodie is a playwrite and actor. Riot won the 1995 Chalmers Award for Best New Play. Moodie lives in Toronto and is currently working on two plays: The Real McCoy, about black Canadian inventor Elijah McCoy; and The Language of the Heart, about Harlem Renaissance writer Wallace Thurman.
Mougnan, Moise N'Djekornonde (poetry)
Books: Des Mots À dire (Orphée, 1987); Le Rhythme du silence (Orphée, 1987)
Odhiambo, David Nandi (fiction/drama/poetry)
Books: mouth to mouth (Panarchy, 1995) with Suzanne Buffam and Joelle Hann; afrocentric (Playwrights Canada, 1996); Diss/Ed Banded Nation (Polestar, 1998); Kiplagat's Chance (Penguin Putnam, 2003)
Biography: Odhiambo was born in Kenya in 1965 and currently lives in Vancouver where he writes fiction, plays, and poetry.
Ogundipe-Leslie, Molara (poetry)
Books: Sew the Day and Other Poems (1985)
Biography: This Nigerian born poet, novelist, scholar and literary critic has been involved in developing Women's Studies programs at the University level in her adopted home of Canada. Her work has appeared in many anthologies internationally. Her poetry style is influenced by ancient Yoruba cultural forms. Ogundipe is co-editor of Moving Beyond Boundaries: Black Women's Diasporas (Pluto, and New York UP, 1995)
Palmer, Everard (children's literature/fiction)
Books: The Broken Vessel (Pioneer, 1951 and 1960);The Cloud with the Silver Lining (Duetsch, 1966); The Sun Salutes You (Deutsch, 1970); A Cow Called Boy (Bobbs Merill, 1972); The Wooing of Beppo Tate (Deutsch, 1972); Baba and Mr. Big (Bobbs Merill, 1974); My Father Sun-Sun Johnson (Deutsch, 1974); Big Dog Bitteroot (Deutsch, 1974); The Hummingbird People (Deutsch, 1974); A Dog Called Houdini (Deutsch, 1978); Beppo Tate and Roy Penner: The Runaway Marriage Brokers (Deutsch, 1980); Houdini, Come Home (Deutsch, 1981)
Biography: Born in 1930 in Jamaica, Palmer was educated at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He is one of the earliest writers of children's books to emerge from the Caribbean and the most prolific. Palmer won the 1971 Institute of Jamaica, Silver Musgrave Medal. He now makes his home in Canada.
Palmer, Hazelle (fiction)
Books: Tales from the Gardens and Beyond (Sister Vision, 1995)
Biography: Palmer makes her home in Toronto and is also a painter. She is editor of the collection "...but where are you really from?": Stories of Identity and Assimilation in Canada (Sister Vision, 1997).
Parisien, Jean-Eric (fiction)
Books: Nadeige: récit (Editions Naaman, 1981)
Parker, Raymond L. (fiction)
Books: Beyond the Dark Horizon (Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, 1987)
Biography: Raymond Parker was born in Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia. Parker attended Annapolis Regional Academy, but left school at 16. He drove trucks for the Lewis Transfer company, a Black-owned firm, for 24 years. A singer, songwriter and musician, Parker has performed with such groups as "The Rockin' Drifters", "The Ambassadors", "The Country Ramblers", and the "Rhythm Four and Countrytones", earning the tag, "The Charley Pride of Nova Scotia." In the early 1970's, he wrote a play, "Beyond the Dark Horizon." In 1987, the Black Cultural Centre published a novella version. In 1988, Charles R. Saunders adapted the novella for a CBC radioscript. Parker lives in Lequille.
Pascale, Sonia (autobiography)
Books: Plans de nègre: récit (VLB, 1994)
Péan, Stanley (fiction/children's literature)
Books: La Plage des songes et autres récits d'exil: huit nouvelles fantastiques (CIDIHCA, 1988); Le Tumulte de mon sang: roman (Quebec/Amérique, 1991); Sombres allées et autres endroits peu hospitaliers: treize excursions en territoire de l'insolite (Voix du Sud/CIDIHCA, 1992); L'Emprise de la Nuit (La Courte échelle, 1993); "Blues et rouge sur blanc" (L'instant même, 1993); La Mémoire ensanglantée (La Courte échelle, 1994); L'automne sauvage (Trecarre, 1995); Zombi Blues (La Courte échelle, 1996); Treize pas vers l'inconnu: nouvelle fantastiques (Pierre Tisseyre, 1996); Quand la bêe;te est humaine (La Courte échelle, 1997); L'appel des loups (La Courte échelle, 1997); Un petit garçon qui avait peur de tout et de rien (La Courte échelle, 1998); Le temps s'enfuit (La Courte échelle, 1999); Noirs desirs: nouvelles (Lémeac, 1999); La nuit démasque (Planête rebelle/CIDIHCA, 2000); Cette etrangete coutumiere (J'ai vu, 2001); Le tumulte de mon sang (La Courte échelle, 2001)
Biography: Pean was born in Port-au-Prince but was raised in Jonquiere, Quebec, and currently lives in both Quebec City and Montreal. His writing appears in several anthologies and collections. He is the author of two works of non-fiction: Toute la ville en jazz and Pl@nete culture.
Click here for more information.
Pereira, Roger (poetry)
Books: Les Galops de dune (Editions Naaman, 1977)
Philip, M. Nourbese (poetry/fiction/essays)
Books: Thorns (Williams-Wallace, 1980); Salmon Courage (Williams-Wallace, 1983); Harriet's Daughter (Women's Press, 1988); She Tries Her Tongue: Her Silence Softly Breaks (Ragweed, 1989); Looking for Livingstone: An Odyssey of Silence (Mercury, 1991); Frontiers: Essays and Writings on Racism and Culture (Mercury, 1992); Showing Grit: Showboating North of the 44th parallel (Pouri Publishing, 1993); Grammar of Dissent: Poetry and Prose by Claire Harris, M. Nourbese Philip and Dionne Brand (Goose Land, 1994); A Genealogy of Resistance: And Other Essays (Mercury Press, 1997); Coups and Calypso: A Play (Mercury Press, 2001)
Biography: M. Nourbese Philip was born in Moriah, Tobago, in 1947. After graduating from University of the West Indies, Trinidad, in 1968, she emigrated to Toronto and acquired a M.A. in Political Science and a LLD from the University of Western Ontario. From 1975 to 1982, Philip practiced immigration and family law, but left her practice to write. Philip is well known in Canada and internationally for her poetry, essays, novel for adolescents, Harriet's Daughter, her public speaking and political activisim. Her forthright analyses of issues relating to culture and racism have drawn both high praise and harsh attack. Philip has won several awards, including the 1988 Casa de las Americas prize for poetry for She Tries Her Tongue; the 1988 Finalist, Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature; the 1988 Max an dgreta Ebel Memorial Award; the 1988 City of Toronto Book Award; a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1990; and 1995 Toronto Arts Award, Writing and Publishing.
Click here for more information.
Phelps, Anthony (poetry/fiction/drama)
Books: été (Port au Prince, 1960); Présence (Haïti-Littéraire, 1961); éclats de silence (Art graphique, 1962); Points cardineaux (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966); Le conditionnel (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1968, 1970); Dits du fou-aux-cailloux (P.J. Oswald, 1968); Mon Pays que voici (P.J. Oswald, 1968); Et moi je suis une île (Leméac, 1973); Moins l'infini: Roman Hatien (Editeurs français réunis, 1973); Mémoire en colin-maillard: Roman (Nouvelle Optique, 1976; CIDIHCA, 2001); Motifs pur le temps saisonnier (P.J. Oswald, 1976); La Bélière caraïbe (Nouvelle Optique, 1980); Même le soleil est nu (Nouvelle Optique, 1983); Haïti!-Haïti!, en collaboration avec Gary Klang (Libre Expression, 1985); Orchidée nègre (Triptyque, 1987); Les doubles quatrains mauves (Mémoire, 1995); Immoble Voyageuse de Picas et autres silances (CIDIHCA, 2000)
Biography: Born in Haïti in 1928, Phelps studied in the United States and Canada. He then returned to Haïti to work as a journalist and radio reporter, and founded, with others, the cenacle Haïti Litteraire, and the literary review, Semences. Imprisoned by the Duvalier regime, he was then forced to leave the country. In 1964, he emigrated to Canada. A resident of Montreal, Phelps now directs a recording company, Disques Coumbite, and is an editor of a journal called Nouvelle Optique. A well-known poet, his work has been translated into many languages. Anthony Phelps has won the Casa de las Americas Prize for poetry.
Click here for more information.
Pierre, Claude (poetry)
Books: À haute voix et À genoux (Port-au-Prince, 1969; Vermillion, 1981; Areytos, 1988); Coucou rouge (Studio Abeille, 1973); Charlemagne Péralte (Studio Abeille, 1973); Tourne ma toupie (Naaman, 1974); Oeil (Naaman, 1974); Crues (Vermillion, 1985); Doencens et de soufre (Vermillion, 1986); Le Coup de l'étrier (Vermillion, 1986); C'est un grand arbre qui nous unit (VLB, 1988); Le voyage inventé (Pleine Plage, 1998)
Biography: Born in Corail, Haïti, Pierre completed his education at the University of Haïti. He came to Canada in 1970, and studied at l'Université Laval and the University of Ottawa. Pierre taught literature at the University of Ottawa from 1979 to 1983 and returned to Haïti in 1986 where he has taught contemporary literature and semiotics at l'Université d'état d'Haïte.
Click here for more information.
Prince, Althea (fiction/children's literature)
Books: How the East Pond Got Its Flowers (Sister Vision, 1991); How the Starfish Got to the Sea (Sister Vision, 1992); Ladies of the Night and Other Stories (Sister Vision, 1993); Loving this Man (Insomniac, 2001); Being Black: Essays (Insomniac, 2001)
Biography: Born in Antigua, Prince has lived in Toronto since 1965. She studied at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, and at York University in Toronto, Canada, from which she obtained her Ph.D. in Sociology, and where she now teaches. She has written short stories, essays and poetry and two books for young people.
Renaud, Alix (fiction/poetry)
Books: De ma fenêtre (Zyx, 1974); Extase exacte (Pensée universelle, 1976); Grâces: poème de chevet (Erbium, 1979); Le Mari: nouvelles (Naaman, 1980); Dix secondes de sursis: nouvelles (Laliberté, 1983); À Corps joie (Nouvelle Optique, 1985; Balzac, 1994); Snesnob: nouvelle (Erbium, 1987); Douce-amère=Dulcamara (Loup de gouttière, 1992); Ovation (Planète Rebelle, 1999)
Biography: Born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, in 1945, Renaud has lived in Quebec since 1968. Renaud has written for several newspapers and has worked as a literary consultant for both the federal and provincial government agencies.
Click here for more information.
Roach, Charles (poetry)
Books: Root for Ravens: Poems for Drum and Freedom (NC Press, 1977)
Biography: Born in Trinidad, Roach emigrated to Canada in 1955. He practices law in Toronto, where he is a prominent spokesperson for the Black community. His poems have appeared in periodicals.
Roy, Lynette (children's literature)
Books: Brown Girl in the Ring: Rosemary Brown--A Biography for Young People (Sister Vision, 1992)
Biography: Roy was born in Trinidad, West Indies, and currently lives in Toronto. She has written several workbooks for preschool and young school-aged children.
Sadlier, Rosemary (biography/children's literature)
Books: Leading the Way: Black Women in Canada (Umbrella, 1994); Mary Ann Shadd: Publisher, Editor, Teacher, Lawyer, Suffragette (Umbrella, 1995); Tubman: Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad: Her Life in the United States and Canada (Umbrella, 1996); The Kids Book of Black Canadian History (Kids Can, 2003)
Biography: A sixth-generation Canadian, Sadlier was born and raised in Toronto where she still lives and writes. She is president of the Ontario Black History Society, a position she has occupied since 1993. Sadlier has degrees from York University and the University of Toronto.
Sadu, Itah (children's literature)
Books: How the Coconut Got Its Face (Carib-Can, 1988); Name Calling (Women's Press, 1992); Christopher, Please Clean up Your Room! (Scholastic Canada, 1993); Christopher Changes His Name (Scholastic Canada, 1996); A Touch of the Zebras (Women's Press, 2003)
Biography: Born in Canada and raised in Barbados, Sadu is an internationally-recognized storyteller, educator, and author of children's literature. She is also co-owner of the Toronto bookstore, A Different Booklist.
Saint-Charles, Jean (poetry)
Books: Affiches: poésie (Rada, 1986)); Phase: poésie (Rada, 1986); Figures (Rada, 1987); Digues (Rada, 1991); Miroirs (Rada, 1991); La frisette: nouvelles (Quinoa, 2000); Suffixes: poèmes (Quinoa, 2000); Avivages: poèmes (Rada, 2001); Forclos: poèmes (Rada, 2001); Jonctures: poèmes (Rada 2001); Lamanto: poèmes (Quinoa, 2001); Phalanges: poèmes (Rada, 2001); Portiques: poèmes (Rada, 2001); Portrait: poèmes (Quinoa, 2001); Serrures: poèmes (Quinoa, 2001)
Sandiford, Robert Edison (fiction)
Books: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall: Stories (Empyreal, 1995); Attractive Forces (NBM, 1997); Stray Moonbeams (NBM, 2002); Sand for Snow: A Caribbean-Canadian Chronicle (DC Books, 2003)
Biography: Born in Montreal in 1968, Sandiford has a degree from McGill University and writes short stories, comic strips, and contributes articles to several newspapers and other publications. Sandiford frequently writes reviews for The Antigonish Review.
Saunders, Charles R. (science fiction/history/screenplays)
Books: Imaro (Daw, 1981); Imaro II The Quest for Cush (Daw, 1984); Imaro III: The Trial of Bohu (Daw, 1985); Amazons (1987 screenplay); The Sam Langford Story (1987 radio play); Stormquest (1988 screenplay); Sweat and Soul (Lancelot, 1990)
Biography: Saunders was born in 1946 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania and emigrated to Canada in 1970. He has published science fiction and screenplays, two of which have become feature films. Saunders has also written a radio play, as well as other non-fiction works. He currently works as a journalist in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is the author of two recent works of historical non-fiction: Share and Care: The Story of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children and Black and Bluenose: The Contemporary History of a Community.
Sears, Djanet (drama)
Books: Afrika Solo (Sister Vision, 1990); Harlem Duet (Scirocco Drama, 1997); Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God (Playwrights Canada, 2003)
Biography: Sears was born in England but moved to Canada with her parents at an early age. Sears is a highly acclaimed playwright; her second play--Harlem Duet--won several awards, including the 1998 Governor General's Award for Drama. She edited the anthology, Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama, which was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2000 and wrote Tellin' It Like It Is: A Compendium of African Canadian Monologues for Actors, published by Playwrights Union of Canada, in the same year. Sears currently resides in Toronto where she is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto.
Shadd-Evelyn, Karen (autobiography)
Books: I'd Rather Be in Buxton (Simon & Pierre, 1993)
Biography: Karen Shadd-Evelyn is one of six children, the sixth generation of Shadds born and raised in North Buxton. Several of her poems, stories, fiction and essays have been published in magazines and anthologies. Karen, her husband and their daughters, currently live in London, Ontario.
Silvera, Makeda (fiction)
Books: Remembering G and other stories (Sister Vision, 1991); Her Head a Village and other stories (Press Gang, 1994); and The Heart Does Not Bend (Random House, 2002)
Biography: Born in Jamaica, Makeda Silvera spent her early years in Kingston, before immigrating to Canada with her parents. Writing has always been a major interest for Silvera. She began in journalism, working with Toronto's Contrast and Share community newspapers, and was an editorial collective member of Fireweed, a feminist quarterly. Her stories, articles and essays have appeared in numerous journals. She is the author of two books and has also edited Silenced: Talks with Working Class West Indian Women About their Lives and Struggles as Domestic Workers in Canada as well as writings by lesbians of colour living in North America, collected in The Other Woman: Women of Colour in Contemporary Canadian Literature and Piece of My Heart: A Lesbian of Colour Anthology. Silvera is co-founder of Sister Vision Press, the first press for women of colour in Canada, where she works as managing editor.
Smith, Charles (poetry)
Books: Partial Lives (Williams-Wallace, 1987)
Biography: Smith has edited two anthologies: The Teeth of the Whirlwind: Poems by Allen, Brand, Joseph, Smith; and sad dances in a field of white.
Suprice, Lenous (poetry)
Books: Reverrant: poèmes (Lagomatik, 1990); Bwamitan (Lagomatic, 1993); Faits divers: poésie (CIDIHCA, 1994); Pages triangulaires: poésie (Intouchables, 1994) with Dary Jean-Charles and Mozart Longuefosse
Talbot, Carol (memoir/poetry)
Books: [as Carol Tremaine] and George Boyd. The Saga of Anne-Marie Weems, Fugitive Girl of 15 (Identity Black Canada, 1977); Growing Up Black in Canada (Williams-Wallace, 1984, 1989)
Biography: Talbot was born in WIndsor, Ontario, and has lived all her life in southwestern Ontario where her father settled. She is a graduate of McMaster University and teaches high school English in London, Ontario where she lives with her two children.
Thomas, H. Nigel (fiction/poetry)
Books: Spirits in the Dark (Anansi, 1993); How Loud Can the Village Cock Crow?: And Other Stories (AFO, 1995); Moving Through Darkness: Poems (AFO, 1999); Behind the Face of Winter (TSAR, 2001)
Biography: Thomas teaches literature at l'Université Laval in Quebec.
Thomas, Ven L. (poetry/children's literature)
Books: Singing in Steel: Poems on the Steelband (Creative Crew, 1983); The Rainbow Rastas (Venn Educational Products, 1994)
Tudor, Beverley Ethelina (children's literature)
Books: The Faithful Donkey and Other Poems (AFO, 1992)
Tynes, Maxine (poetry/children's literature)
Books: Borrowed Beauty (Pottersfield, 1987), Woman Talking Woman (Pottersfield, 1990), Save the World for Me (Pottersfield, 1991) Door of My Heart (Pottersfield, 1995)
Biography: A seventh-generation Nova Scotian, Tynes was born in Dartmouth in 1949 and has lived there all of her life. She is high school English teacher and a former freelance broadcaster with CBC Radio. She is also the first Africadian to be appointed a member of the Board of Governors of Dalhousie University. Primarily a poet, her short story "In Service," was broadcast on CBC in 1991, and she is currently working on a novel. Her awards include the 1974 Dennis Memorial Poetry Prize; and the 1988 People's Poet of Canada Award. In 1999 the Maxine Tynes Room opened at the Dartmouth Public Library.
Uhindu-gingala, Ginganj (poetry)
Books:Terre des autres (Orphée, 1990)
VanDyke, Janice (children's literature)
Books:Like the Leaves (Sumner, 1972)
Vera, Yvonne (fiction)
Books:Why Don't You Carve Other Animals (TSAR, 1992);Nehanda (Baobab, 1993); Without a Name (Baobab, 1994); Under the Tongue (Baobab, 1996); Opening Spaces: An Anthology of Contemporary Women's Writing (Heineman, 1999); The Stone Virgins (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003)
Biography: Yvonne Vera was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but lived and wrote in Canada for many years while she was completing a B.A., M.A. and PhD from York University. Her work has won several prizes, including the 1997 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region) (Under the Tongue), and the 2002 Macmillian Writer's Prize (Africa) (The Stone Virgins). Vera currently lives in Zimbabwe.
Walcott, Rinaldo (essays)
Books:Black Like Who?: Writing Black Canada (Insomniac, 2003)
Biography: Rinaldo Walcott is the editor of a collection of essays titled Rude: Contemporary Black Canadian Cultural Criticism. Walcott currently teaches Cultural Studies at OISE/UT. He is the author of numerous essays, contributes regularly to several cultural and scholarly journals, and is currently editing a book of essays on Austin Clarke.
Walls, Bryan E. (fiction)
Books:The Road that Led to Somewhere (Olive, 1980)
Biography: Walls was born in Windsor and his family established the Underground Railroad Museum and the John Freeman Walls Historic Site, close to Windsor. An alumnus of the University of Toronto, Dr. Walls became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003.
Ward, Frederick (poetry/fiction/drama)
Books:Poems (Duende, 1964); Riverslip: Black Memories (Tundra, 1974); Nobody Called Me Mine: Black Memories (Tundra, 1977); Fields of Endless Day (film script, O.E.T., 1977); "Riverslip" (Theatre Centaur, 1975); Jno: A Play in 12/8 Gospel Time, A Room Full of Balloons (Tundra, 1981); The Curing Berry (Williams-Wallace, 1983)
Biography: Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Ward studied music at the Conservatory there and in Toronto. His compositions have been played by several recognized groups in the United States, and he has worked with the National Film Board in the Maritimes. Ward has edited two anthologies: Anthology of Nine Baha'i Poets, and Present Tense. He now divides his time between Montreal and Nova Scotia.
Watson, Edward (poetry)
Books:Out of the Silent Stone and other poems (Bruckings House, n.d.)
Biography: Born in Jamaica, Watson attended Kingston College. He received his M.A. from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. He teaches Practical Criticism and Theory at the University of Windsor. He has received two Canada Council Grants, one in 1968 and another in 1971.
Wesley-Daye, Gloria (poetry)
Books:To My Someday Child (Bilongo, 1975)
White, Michael (poetry)
Books:The Voice of the Seed: A Collection of Poems and Songs (Ruminech Publishing House, 1994)
Woods, David (poetry/drama)
Books: Native Song: Poetry and Paintings (Pottersfield, 1990); For Elsie Dorrington (1983)
Biography: Woods was born in 1959 in Trinidad. He emigrated to Canada with his family in 1972 and settled in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He served as Director for the Black Cultural Centre, and founded the Black Cultural Awareness Youth Group. In 1986, while he was the Director, the organzation won the Commonwealth Youth Service Award. He is a poet, playwright, painter, actor, organizer and filmmaker. He has staged many plays and has also appeared in films.
Credits
A significant portion of this bibliography is drawn from the following sources: Lisette Boily, "Contemporary Canadian First Nations Writers and Writers of Colour: A Working Bibliography," West Coast Line, Numbers 13/14 (Spring-Fall 1994): 3-318; and George Elliot Clarke, "African Canadiana: A Primary Bibliography of Literature by African-Canadian Authors." Canadian Ethnic Studies/études ethniques au canada, Vol. XXVIII, No. 3, 1996: 120-209.
