Last Wednesday was Earth Day, one of the few days left that we actually think about the environment and how we affect it. Although we live upon its surface and exploit its resources 365 days a year (and that extra day every four years), it's not often that the average person thinks about the environment. Is that because we don't care or think about it? Or is it the fact that environmental activism can sometimes come across as preachy or holier-than-thou to the average carbon sucking vampires of our world? It's a toss up. However, there are some writers who are driving a stake in the heart of common conceptions around environmental activism.

A little while ago, I got to speak to one of my favourite poets: George Elliott Clarke. Originally from Nova Scotia, Clarke now lives in Toronto, where he is currently the appointed poet laureate. Clarke has 13 published collections of poetry and is in the process of writing his life's work: a three part epic poem, his version of Dante's hell. An expert in the academic field of Black Canadian literature, Clarke puts the study in perspective, and shed some light on the current situation of Black Canadian authors and poets.

Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and your work?

Canada Reads came to a close today and Kim Thúy's debut novel Ru (translated by Sheila Fischman) won Canada's annual "title fight."

I have to say, that at the beginning of the week, I thought that The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King was the sure choice. When it got knocked out on Tuesday, everything became uncertain. It seemed as if it was all up in the air.