Parliament won’t censor former poet laureate’s selection or remove n-word

The parliamentary website republished the poem Shakespeare, by EI Jones—a Halifax author—three years ago. The poem portrays Shakespeare as a black rapper.

“As the steward of the parliamentary poet laureate program, the Library of Parliament strives to balance between its mission and organizational values and the free artistic expression of poets,” noted the director of Library executive services, François Coté.

Coté added that the reference in the poem to a “little ni**a” was used in a “context to help readers understand the language used.”

The poem reads:

"This is the story Of a little nigga named Shakespeare Born in a town In the middle of nowhere No one would have thought That such beautiful language Could come out of the ghetto And a yard filled with garbage But no one knows who The Gods chose to favour And so poets come In all colours and flavours The gift of these Gods Can be strange and capricious But when Shakespeare spoke Man, his words were delicious!"

“I’m not interested in censorship,” said George Elliott Clarke, who republished the poem as the former poet laureate. “Good poetry ought to be provocative.”

“The n-word is a very political word used in a positive political framework in that poem,” said Clarke who is a professor at University of Toronto. “I am not interested in hate speech. The n-word in this poem reflects an urban context.”

The first poet laureate was appointed by Parliament in 2002 and the currently unfilled position pays $20,000 a year as a part time job with travel expenses of $13,000.

Clarke—Parliament’s first black poet laureate—added that Parliament should “showcase poets I consider to be important, relevant and provocative, poets that ask us to think differently.”

“It is a ceremonial position, certainly, but it is a ceremonial position with a lot of responsibilities,” said Professor Clarke, adding that no senators or MPs gave him “any direct comment” on the poem.