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Lillian Allen

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Lillian Allen

Lillian Allen. Photo by Black Coffee Poet. Courtesy Canadian Encyclopedia.

Lillian Allen (born April 5, 1951) is a Juno Award-winning Canadian dub poet, vocalist, lyricist, and teacher.[1]

Life[]

Youth and education[]

Allen was born in Kingston, Jamaica, the 5th of 10 children, and grew up in Spanish Town, Jamaica.[1]

In 1969 she moved to New York City, and studied English at the City University of New York.[2] There she worked on the Caribbean Daily, which published her poem, "I Fight Back."[1]

In 1974 she moved to Canada, living for a time in Kitchener, Ontario before settling in Toronto, where she continued her education at York University, earning a B.A. in creative writing in 1978.[1]

Career[]

After meeting Oku Onuora in Cuba in 1978, she began working in dub poetry.[2] She published her first chapbook, Rhythm an' Hardtimes, in 1982, and released her debut recording, Dub Poet: The poetry of Lillian Allen, in 1983.

Since 1992, she has been a professor with the faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, where she teaches creative writing.[1] She recently held the distinction of being the first Canada Council writer in residence for Queen's University's Department of English.

Allen co-produced and co-directed Blak Wi Blakk, a documentary about Jamaican dub poet Mutabaruka.[3]

Recognition[]

Allen won the Juno Award for Best Reggae/Calypso Album for Revolutionary Tea Party in 1986 and Conditions Critical in 1988.[3] Both albums were produced by Billy Bryans, the percussionist for Canadian dance-pop band Parachute Club.

In 1989, Allen’s poem “Unnatural Causes” was the subject of a National Film Board film.[1]

In 2006 Allen was the subject of an episode of the television series Heart of a Poet, produced by Canadian filmmaker Maureen Judge.[1]

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • Rhythm an' Hardtimes. Toronto: Domestic Bliss, 1982.
  • The Teeth of the Whirlwind (The Teeth of the Whirlwind (with Dionne Brand, Clifton Joseph, & Charles C. Smith). 1984.[1]

1984)

  • Why Me. Toronto: Well Versed, 1991.
  • Women Do This Every Day: Selected poems. Toronto: Women's Press, 1993; Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press / Women's Press, 2003.
  • Psychic Unrest: Poetry. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 1999, 2009.

Art[]

  • Frost: Photographs. Winnipeg: Hyperion Press, 1990.

Juvenile[]

  • If You See Truth: Poems for children and young people. Toronto: Verse to Vinyl, 1987.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[4]

Audio / video[]

Lillian_Allen_-_Revolutionary_Tea_Party_(1986)

Lillian Allen - Revolutionary Tea Party (1986)

Lillian_Allen_What_is_Dub_Poetry?

Lillian Allen What is Dub Poetry?

Discography[]

  • Dub Poet: The poetry of Lillian Allen. 1983.[1]
  • De Dub Poets (contributor). Toronto: Verse to Vinyl, 1985.
  • Curfew Inna B.C.. 1985.
  • Revolutionary Tea Party. Toronto: Verse to Vinyl, 1985, 1998.
  • Let the Heart See. 1987.[1]
  • Conditions Critical. Toronto: Verse to Vinyl, 1998.
  • Nothing But a Hero. 1992.[1]
  • Freedom & Dance. 1999.[1]


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat..[4]

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Lillian Allen, Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada. Web, Jan. 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dawes, Kwame (2000) Talk Yuh Talk: Interviews with Anglophone Caribbean Poets, University of Virginia Press, 148-160. Print.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Henry, Krista (2007) "Lillian Allen fights back with words", Jamaica Gleaner, 3 June 2007. Web, Oct. 31, 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Search results = au:Lillian Allen, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Mar. 26, 2017.

External links[]

Poems
Audio / video
Books
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