“My Work Is Obeah”: An Interview with Poet/Painter LeRoy Clarke

For LeRoy Clarke, art is the only way of being, of living, of working. Each stroke of his brush or pen is loaded with the power and conviction of Clarke’s philosophy, which is infused with the spiritual magic of Obeah. On New Year’s Eve of 1969, Clarke swore an oath to spend the rest of his life creating De Poet, a series of paintings, drawings, and poems that Clarke has divided into thematic and consecutive phases or movements, the main subject of which is the neocolonial African. Through each phase of De Poet, Clarke attempts to restore the African (the group Clarke believes has fallen farthest among the neo-colonial peoples) to a state of grace and sovereignty. Each stage of De Poet mirrors the African experience in the New World—the journey from Africa, the loss of cultural and spiritual identity, and the eventual hope to regain all that was lost. Clarke attempts to heal the neocolonial African through his art.