Biography

Author, poet, journalist, educator, and advocate. Dr. El Jones is all these things and more, an outspoken activist, thinker and writer whose strengths converge in her spoken word performances.

A respected poet, Dr. Jones was two-time National Slam champion in 2007 and 2008, Poet Laureate of Halifax in 2013-2015, resident of the International Writing Program at University of Iowa in 2015, and poet in residence at University of Toronto Scarborough in 2021.

What defines her achievements is a commitment to activism and community advocacy to highlight inequities and redress injustices. The recognition of her performances, teaching and political commitment testifies to the exceptional influence she has exercised during the Black Lives Matter movement and the expansion of Black scholarship in Canadian academia.

Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political and Canadian Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, Dr. Jones has taught at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Community College, and Saint Mary’s University. In 2017-19, she was appointed to the 15th Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies, an illustrious position in feminist studies. She is also well-known in Wolfville: between 2012 and 2014, she taught five courses in Women’s and Gender Studies at Acadia.

Dr. Jones will convocate on Friday, May 17, at 10:00 a.m.