Poets

George Elliot Clarke - Poet Laureate, Parliamentary Poet Laureate, U of T Professor of English

The 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and the 7th Parliamentary/Canadian Poet Laureate (2016-17), George Elliott Clarke was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, in 1960.  A professor of English at the University of Toronto, Clarke has also taught at Duke, McGill, UBC, and Harvard. His recognitions include the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Centre Fellowship (US), the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, the National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry, the Premiul Poesis (Romania), the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry (US), and International Fellow Poet of the Year, Encyclopedic Poetry School [2019] (China).  His acclaimed titles include Whylah Falls (1990, translated into Chinese), Beatrice Chancy (1999, translated into Italian), Execution Poems (2001), Blues and Bliss (selected poems, 2009), I & I (2008), Illicit Sonnets (U.K., 2013), Traverse (2015), and Canticles II (MMXX) (2020).  Since 1983, he has published some 25 volumes of poetry.

Antonia Facciponte - Poet

​Antonia Facciponte received her MA in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Toronto. Her first collection of poetry, titled To Make a Bridge, was published by Black Moss Press in 2021, and her story “Lilla” recently won first place in The South Shore Review’s flash fiction contest.  She plans to pursue further graduate work, including perhaps a doctorate, in Creative Writing.

Giovanna Riccio - Poet

​A prize-winning poet and teacher who thrives on scholarly pursuits, Giovanna Riccio was born in Calabria, Italy, and immigrated to Canada as a child. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where she majored in philosophy. Giovanna is the author of Vittorio (Lyricalmyrical Press, 2010) Strong Bread (Quattro Books, 2011), and Plastic’s Republic (Guernica Editions, 2019) which was a finalist for the 2022 Bressani Prize.  Her poems have appeared in national and international publications, numerous anthologies and have been translated into six languages. Website and contact: giovannariccio.com

Yeshim Ternar - Poet

​Yeshim Ternar was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1956. She has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from McGill University. Yeshim lived in Montreal, Canada between 1980 and 2000.  She has published 2 short story collections: Orphaned by Halley’s Comet and True Romance with a Sailor; a book of historical non-fiction, The Book & The Veil and a historical novel, Rembrandt’s Model.  The excerpts that broke into song are from The Book & The Veil, Escape from an Istanbul Harem, Vehicule Press, 1994.  Since her retirement in 2018, Yeshim Ternar has been living in Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA, and quietly working on her spiritual autobiography. 

Andrea Thompson - Poet

​Andrea Thompson is a poet, novelist and spoken word artist who has been sharing her work for over twenty-five years. Her recent collection, A Selected History of Soul Speak, was listed for the Pat Lowther, Raymond Souster and Robert Kroetsch awards, and she is the recipient of the 2021 Pavlick Poetry Prize. Andrea currently teaches creative writing through the University of Toronto’s department of English and Drama, where she created U of T’s first spoken word course. Her recent album, The Good Word, is an exploration Black history and faith. 

H. Eleni Zisimatos - Poet

​H. Eleni Zisimatos was born and raised in Montreal/Tiohtià:ke. Her work has been widely published and she has been a finalist for several prestigious awards.  She is one of the founders of Vallum Poetry (www.vallummag.com) and has worked as an editor since 2000.  She looks forward to more peaceful times, and to philosophical studies.