In Defence of Black Bibliography

A Conversation with George Elliot Clarke

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/canlit.vi264.201718

Keywords:

African Canadian literature, African Canadian bibliography, Black writing, Black culture, book studies, oral tradition, African diaspora, publishing, independent presses, self-publishing, Black intellectuals, artificial intelligence, AI, Africadian, Black Nova Scotians

Abstract

In this peer-reviewed interview, renowned African Canadian poet and scholar George Elliott Clarke reflects on the creation of Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature (2002). Clarke discusses Black literature in Canada, the ongoing necessity of Black self-publishing, and the unique characteristics of African Canadian literature and language. He also considers the significance of Black bibliographies, past and present. Finally, Clarke turns his attention towards technology, artificial intelligence, and creativity.

Author Biography

Kristin Moriah

Kristin Moriah is an associate professor of English at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where she is a Canada Research Chair in Black Feminist Technologies and Artistic Praxis. Moriah is one of the founders of the Black Studies Summer Institute, a joint initiative between Queen’s University and the University of Toronto, which seeks to advance Black Studies in Canada at the graduate level. She is the editor of Insensible of Boundaries: Studies in Mary Ann Shadd Cary (2025), the first collection of scholarly essays about radical Black feminist editor and activist Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Her work has been supported by fellowships from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada, the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, and the Bibliographic Society of Canada.

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Published

Jul. 16, 2026 (UTC)

How to Cite

Moriah, Kristin, and George Elliott Clarke. “In Defence of Black Bibliography: A Conversation With George Elliot Clarke”. Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review, no. 264, July 2026, pp. 154-75, doi:10.14288/canlit.vi264.201718.

Issue

No. 264 (2026): Solidarity: Aesthetics, Politics, Pedagogies

Section

Forum