Australian writer
Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian writer of
Afro-Caribbean descent, whose work includes fiction, non-fiction, plays and poetry. She is the author of many books for children and adults, notably a short story collection entitled
Foreign Soil , and her 2016 memoir The Hate Race , which she adapted for a stage production debuting in February 2024. In 2023, Clarke was the inaugural Peter Steele Poet in Residence at the
University of Melbourne .
Early life and education
Maxine Beneba Clarke was born and raised in the
Sydney suburb of
Kellyville .
[1] Her mother was an actress of
Guyanese heritage and her father an academic of
Jamaican descent, who migrated to Australia from England in 1976.
[2]
[3] She has said: "Cousins, aunts, and uncles of mine have settled all over the world: including in Germany, America, Switzerland, Australia, England, and Barbados. Mine is a complex migration history that spans four continents and many hundreds of years: a history that involves loss of land, loss of agency, loss of language, and loss, transformation, and reclamation of culture."
[4]
Beneba Clarke attended school in Kellyville and
Baulkham Hills ,
[5] before going on to earn a
Bachelor of Creative Arts and
law degree (with majors in
creative writing and
human rights ) from the
University of Wollongong .
[1]
[6]
She moved to
Melbourne .
[5]
Career
Clarke published a number of short works, before publishing a collection of short stories that focuses on the
African diaspora , called Foreign Soil , in 2014. She went on to publish many more works of different genres, including poetry.
[1]
She has been a contributor to
The Saturday Paper .
[7] Her work is included in the 2019 anthology
New Daughters of Africa , edited by
Margaret Busby .
[8]
In December 2022 Clarke was announced as the
University of Melbourne 's inaugural Peter Steele Poet in Residence,
[1] named in honour of Australian poet
Peter Steele (1939–2012).
[9]
Clarke wrote a stage adaptation of The Hate Race for
Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, which debuted in February 2024. It is performed as a one-woman show by
Zahra Newman , with sounds and music provided by musician Kuda Mapeza.
[10]
Recognition and awards
Clarke's collection of short stories
Foreign Soil won the 2013
Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award ,
[6] the 2015
Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) for Best Literary Fiction,
[11] the 2015
Indie Book Award for Best Debut Fiction,
[12] and was shortlisted for the 2015
Stella Prize .
[13]
Her memoir The Hate Race (2016) won the
New South Wales Premier's Literary Award ,
[14] and was shortlisted for The Stella Prize, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for non-fiction and an ABIA for non-fiction.[
citation needed ]
Her poetry collection Carrying The World won the 2017
Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry .
[15] Her picture book
The Patchwork Bike (2016), illustrated by
Melbourne artist
Van Thanh Rudd , won the
Crichton Award for Children's Book Illustration .
[16]
In 2021, Clarke was voted the "People's Choice" for the triennial
Melbourne Prize for Literature , for an outstanding body of work.
Clarke has received several writing awards and fellowships, including:
2013:
Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize
[1]
2013:
Australia Council grant
[1]
2014:
Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship
[17]
2015: Winner,
Indie Book Award for Best Debut Fiction, for Foreign Soil
[12]
2015:
Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) – Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year (2015)
[11]
2015:
Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
[1]
2017: Winner,
Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry , for Carrying the World
[15]
2017: Winner,
NSW Multicultural Award in the
New South Wales Premier's Literary Award , for The Hate Race
[18]
[19]
2017: Honour Book,
Crichton Award for Children's Book Illustration , for The Patchwork Bike (with
Van Thanh Rudd )
[20]
2019: Winner,
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award , Picture Book Award for The Patchwork Bike , illustrated by
Melbourne artist
Van Thanh Rudd
[21]
2021:
Melbourne Prize for Literature , Civic Choice Award
[22]
2021: Longlisted,
Kate Greenaway Medal , for When We Say Black Lives Matter
[23]
Works
Clarke's works include:
[1]
As author
The Hate Race: a stage adaptation (2024)
We Know a Place , a picture book illustrated by the author (2023)
It’s the Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for young people , a poetry collection (2023).
11 Words for Love, a picture book written by Randa Abdel-Fattah - as illustrator (2022).
How Decent Folk Behave (2021), a poetry collection
When We Say Black Lives Matter (2020), a picture book illustrated by the author
Meet Taj at the Lighthouse (2020), an early reader chapter book in the Aussie Kids book series.
The Saturday Portraits (2019), a collection of creative non-fiction profiles published in
The Saturday Paper
Fashionista (2019), a picture book illustrated by the author
Wide Big World (2018), a picture book illustrated by Isobel Knowles
The Hate Race (2016), an autobiography
Carrying The World (2016), a collection of poetry
The Patchwork Bike (2016), a picture book illustrated by
Van Thanh Rudd
Foreign Soil (2014), a collection of short stories
Nothing Here Needs Fixing (2013), a collection of poetry
Gil Scott Heron is on Parole (2008), a collection of poetry
As editor
Growing Up African in Australia (Black Inc., 2019)
[24]
The Best Australian Stories 2017 (Black Inc., 2017)
As illustrator
References
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Maxine Beneba Clarke" .
AustLit . 15 December 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2024 .
^ Beejay Silcox,
"Racism in Australia: Maxine Beneba Clarke writes from experience" ,
The Australian , 6 August 2016.
^
"The poison that eats away at your being" ,
The Economist , 8 July 2017.
^ Maxine Beneba Clarke,
"Here Comes the Fourth Culture" , PowellsBooks.Blog, 3 January 2017.
^
a
b Andrew Cattanach,
"Maxine Beneba Clarke, author of Foreign Soil, answers Ten Terrifying Questions" , Booktopia , 30 April 2014.
^
a
b Sullivan, Jane (3 May 2014).
"Maxine Beneba Clarke" .
The Sydney Morning Herald .
ISSN
0312-6315 . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
"Maxine Beneba Clarke" . The Saturday Paper . 12 July 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2024 .
^
"Toni Morrison: Melissa Lucashenko and Maxine Beneba Clarke reflect on late author's legacy" ,
The Guardian , 8 August 2019.
^
"Maxine Beneba Clarke named inaugural Poet in Residence" . University of Melbourne Faculty of Arts . 15 December 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2024 .
^ Gbogbo, Mawunyo (29 February 2024).
"In The Hate Race, Zahra Newman turns Maxine Beneba Clarke's bestselling memoir into a one-woman show" .
ABC News (Australia) . Retrieved 5 March 2024 .
^
a
b
"2015 ABIA Winners" . ABIA Awards . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
a
b
"Indie Book Awards" . Indie Book Awards . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
"Foreign Soil" .
Stella Prize . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
"The Hate Race" , Hachette Australia, 2016.
^
a
b
"Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017" . The Wheeler Centre . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
"The Patchwork Bike" at Readings.
^
"Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship" . Writers Victoria . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
"2017 – NSW Multicultural Award: The winner, shortlists and judges' comments" . State Library of NSW . Retrieved 30 April 2019 .
^
"New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards" (PDF) . SL Magazine . 8 (4): 35. Summer 2015–2016.
^ Morris, Linda (18 August 2017).
"Children's Book Council of Australia reveal the best books of 2017" . The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 5 May 2019 .
^
"Presenting the 2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners – The Horn Book" . www.hbook.com . 29 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019 .
^
"Tsiolkas, Araluen, Grills, Clarke 2021 Melbourne Prize winners" . Books+Publishing . 11 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021 .
^
"When We Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clarke" . Joy in books . 8 November 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2024 .
^ Melissa Phillips,
"Wide collection of voices challenges stereotype of African Australians" , The Sydney Morning Herald , 26 April 2019.
^
"11 Words for Love (Randa Abdel-Fattah, illus by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lothian)" . Books+Publishing. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023 .
External links
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