Lillian Allen

Lillian Allen (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian dub poet, reggae musician, and writer, who is a Juno award winner.

Life
Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1951, she left that country in 1969, first moving to New York City, where she studied English at the City University of New York. She lived for a time in Kitchener, Ontario, before settling in Toronto, where she continued her education at York University, gaining a B.A. After meeting Oku Onuora in Cuba in 1978, she began working in dub poetry. She released her first recording, Dub Poet: The Poetry of Lillian Allen, in 1983.

She is a sessional lecturer at the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she teaches creative writing. She recently held the distinction of being the first Canada Council Writer-in-Residence for Queen's University's Department of English.

Allen also co-produced and co-directod Blak Wi Blakk, a documentary about the Jamaican dub poet Mutabaruka.

Recognition
Allen won the Juno Award for Best Reggae/Calypso Album for Revolutionary Tea Party in 1986 and Conditions Critical in 1988. Both albums were produced by Billy Bryans, the percussionist for Canadian dance-pop band Parachute Club.

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.

Publications

 * Rhythm an' Hardtimes (1983)
 * The Teeth of the Whirlwind (1984)
 * If You See Truth (1987)
 * Why Me (1991)
 * Women Do This Every Day (1993)
 * Psychic Unrest (1999)

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)