Lillian Allen (born 5 April 1951) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
dub poet
Dub poetry is a form of performance poetry of West Indian origin, which evolved out of dub music in Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1970s, ,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
musician, writer and
Juno Award
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
winner.
Biography
Born in
Spanish Town
Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...
,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, she left that country in 1969, first moving to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where she studied English at the
City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
.
[Dawes, Kwame (2000), ''Talk Yuh Talk: Interviews with Anglophone Caribbean Poets'', University of Virginia Press, , pp. 148–160.] She lived for a time in
Kitchener,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, before settling in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, where she continued her education at
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
, gaining a B.A. degree.
[Henry, Krista (2007]
"Lillian Allen fights back with words"
''Jamaica Gleaner
''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...
'', 3 June 2007. . Retrieved 31 October 2010. After meeting
Oku Onuora
Oku Nagba Ozala Onuora (born Orlando Wong, 9 March 1952), known as the "father of Jamaican dub poetry" is a Jamaican dub poet and performer.
Biography
Orlando Wong was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1952.Habekost, Christian (1993) ''Verbal Riddi ...
in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
in 1978, she began working in dub poetry.
She released her first recording, ''Dub Poet: The Poetry of Lillian Allen'', in 1983.
Allen won the
Juno Award
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
for Best Reggae/Calypso Album for ''
Revolutionary Tea Party'' in 1986 and ''Conditions Critical'' in 1988.
In 1990, she collaborated on the one-off single "Can't Repress the Cause", a plea for greater inclusion of hip-hop music in the Canadian music scene, with
Dance Appeal Dance Appeal was a Canadian supergroup of dance, rhythm and blues, reggae and hip hop artists, who released the one-off single "Can't Repress the Cause" in 1990. The song, a plea for greater inclusion of these predominantly black music genres in t ...
, a
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
of Toronto-area musicians that included
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
,
Maestro Fresh Wes
Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is credited by his ...
,
Dream Warriors, B-Kool,
Michie Mee
Michelle McCullock (born November 1, 1970), better known by her stage name Michie Mee, is a Canadian rapper and actress. Canada's first notable female MC, she is considered a national hip-hop pioneer.
Early life and career
McCullock was born in ...
,
Eria Fachin
Eria Fachin (April 20, 1960 – May 9, 1996) was a Canadian dance pop singer, best known for her 1988 single "Savin' Myself". , HDV, Dionne, Thando Hyman, Carla Marshall,
Messenjah
Messenjah is a Canadian-based reggae group that flourished to become one of the most successful and popular reggae groups in the history of Canadian music.
History
Messenjah was formed in 1980 in Kitchener, Ontario and released their first album ...
, Jillian Mendez, Lorraine Scott,
Lorraine Segato
Lorraine P. Segato (born June 17, 1956 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for and a principal songwriter of new wave and pop rock group The Parachute Club, with which she continues to pe ...
, Self Defense,
Leroy Sibbles
Leroy Sibbles (born Leroy Sibblies, 29 January 1949) is a Jamaican reggae musician and producer. He was the lead singer for The Heptones in the 1960s and 1970s.
In addition to his work with The Heptones, Sibbles was a session bassist and arra ...
, Zama and Thyron Lee White. Two years later, she organized a collective of artists, including
Ahdri Zhina Mandiela Ahdri Zhina Mandiela (born May 10, 1953) is a Toronto-based dub poet, theatre producer, and artistic director. She has gained worldwide acclaim for her books, music recordings, film, theatre and dance productions. and
Afua Cooper
Afua Cooper (born 8 November 1957) is a Jamaican-born Canadian historian. In 2018 she is an associate professor of sociology at Dalhousie University. She is an author and dub poet. As of 2018 she has published five volumes of poetry. , prompting Toronto's First International Dub Poetry Festival.
In 2006, Allen and her work were the subject of an episode of the television series ''
Heart of a Poet'', produced by Canadian filmmaker
Maureen Judge
Maureen Judge is a Canadian Screen Awards (CSA) winning filmmaker and television producer. Much of her work is documentary and explores themes of love, betrayal and acceptance in the context of the modern family, with the most recent films focusin ...
. She is a Faculty of Liberal Studies Professor at the
Ontario College of Art and Design University
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...
, where she teaches creative writing. She recently held the distinction of being the first
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...
Writer-in-Residence for
Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to:
*Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
**Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950)
**Queen's University of Belfast ...
's Department of English. Allen also co-produced and co-directed ''Blak Wi Blakkk'', a 1991 documentary about the Jamaican dub poet
Mutabaruka
Allan Hope (born 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, ''The Cutting Edge'' and ''Steppin' Razor''. His ...
.
In 2023, Allen was named to a three-year term as
Poet Laureate of Toronto
The Poet Laureate of Toronto is the city's literary ambassador and advocate for poetry, language and the arts. The poet laureate's mandate includes the creation of a legacy project that is unique to the individual. They also attend events across th ...
.
Publications
*1983 ''Rhythm an' Hardtimes''
*1984 ''The Teeth of the Whirlwind''
*1987 ''If You See Truth''
*1991 ''Why Me''
*1993 ''Women Do This Every Day''
*1993 ''Love & Other Strange Things'' (stage play)
*1999 ''Psychic Unrest''
Discography
* ''Dub Poet: The Poetry of Lillian Allen'' (1983)
* ''De dub poets'' (1985)
* ''Curfew Inna B.C.'' (1985)
* ''
Revolutionary Tea Party'' (1986)
* ''Let the Heart See'' (1987)
* ''Conditions Critical'' (1988)
* ''Nothing But a Hero'' (1992)
* ''Freedom & Dance'' (1999)
* ''Anxiety (European release)'' (2012)
References
External links
Lillian Allen's Official WebsiteInterview with Lillian Allen: "All the More 'Anxious for a Revolution'"*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Lillian
1951 births
Living people
20th-century Canadian poets
Jamaican emigrants to Canada
Black Canadian musicians
Black Canadian writers
Canadian reggae musicians
Canadian women poets
Jamaican dub poets
20th-century Canadian women writers
Musicians from Toronto
Writers from Toronto
People from Spanish Town
Black Canadian women writers
Juno Award for Reggae Recording of the Year winners
Canadian spoken word poets
Poets Laureate of Toronto
20th-century Canadian women musicians
21st-century Canadian poets
21st-century Canadian women writers
21st-century Canadian women musicians