Lillian Allen(born 5 April 1951) is aCanadiandub poet,writer andJuno Awardwinner.[1]
Lillian Allen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 5 April 1951 Kingston,Jamaica |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Labels | Verse to Vinyl |
| Website | www |
Biography
editBorn inSpanish Town,Jamaica,she left that country in 1969, first moving toNew York City,where she studied English at theCity University of New York.[2]She lived for a time inKitchener,Ontario,before settling inToronto,where she continued her education atYork University,gaining a B.A. degree.[3]After meetingOku OnuorainCubain 1978, she began working in dub poetry.[2]She released her first recording,Dub Poet: The Poetry of Lillian Allen,in 1983.[citation needed]
Allen won theJuno Awardfor Best Reggae/Calypso Album forRevolutionary Tea Partyin 1986 andConditions Criticalin 1988.[3]
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, withDance Appeal,asupergroupof Toronto-area musicians that includedDevon,Maestro Fresh Wes,Dream Warriors,B-Kool,Michie Mee,Eria Fachin,HDV,Dionne, Thando Hyman, Carla Marshall,Messenjah,Jillian Mendez, Lorraine Scott,Lorraine Segato,Self Defense,Leroy Sibbles,Zama and Thyron Lee White.[4]Two years later, she organized a collective of artists, includingAhdri Zhina MandielaandAfua Cooper,prompting Toronto's First International Dub Poetry Festival.[5]: 103
In 2006, Allen and her work were the subject of an episode of the television seriesHeart of a Poet,produced by Canadian filmmakerMaureen Judge.She is a Faculty of Liberal Studies Professor at theOntario College of Art and Design University,where she teaches creative writing. She recently held the distinction of being the firstCanada CouncilWriter-in-Residence forQueen's University's Department of English. Allen also co-produced and co-directedBlak Wi Blakkk,a 1991 documentary about the Jamaican dub poetMutabaruka.[3]
In 2023, Allen was named to a three-year term asPoet Laureate of Toronto.[6]
Publications
editDiscography
edit- 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
edit- ^"Lillian Allen".Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.Retrieved25 August2019.
- ^abDawes, Kwame (2000),Talk Yuh Talk: Interviews with Anglophone Caribbean Poets,University of Virginia Press,ISBN978-0-8139-1946-1,pp. 148–160.
- ^abcHenry, Krista (2007)"Lillian Allen fights back with words",Jamaica Gleaner,3 June 2007.Archived12 August 2011 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ^"Urban Music".Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.Retrieved25 August2019.
- ^Robertson, Clive (2004). "Lillian Allen: Holding the past, touching the present, shining out the future". In Householder, Johanna; Tanya Mars (eds.).Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women.Toronto: YYZ Books. pp. 102–110.ISBN9780920397848.
- ^Deborah Dundas,"Lillian Allen: Toronto’s new poet laureate on taking poetry to the city’s street corners".Toronto Star,May 11, 2023.
- ^"Lillian Allen".Poetry Foundation.11 March 2017.Retrieved11 March2017.
- ^Lecker, Robert, ed. (1997).English-Canadian Literary Anthologies: An Enumerative Bibliography.Reference Press. p.134.ISBN0-919981-60-7.OCLC37981570.
- ^"Lillian Allen".poets.ca. Archived fromthe originalon 16 March 2011.Retrieved20 January2011.
- ^Smith, Mary Elizabeth (1997).""One Must Please to Live": The Survival of Harry Lindley in Atlantic Canada ".Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales Au Canada.18(2).