Clarke has written three books of poetry, Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues (1983), Whylah Falls (1990), and Lush Dreams, Blue Exile: Fugitive Poems, 1978-1993, and Beatrice Chancy (1999). Revered as a poet and as an activist scholar, Clarke has received several awards, including the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry (1991), the Portia White Prize for excellence in the arts (1998), the University of Waterloo Arts Alumni Award (1999), an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University (1999), and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree for the University of New Brunswick (2000). He was also awarded Bellagio Center Residency in Italy (1998).