Lillian Allen is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 dub poet

Dub poetry

Dub poetry is a form of performance poetry of West Indian origin, which evolved out of dub music consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms in Jamaica in the 1970s....

, reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 musician, writer and Juno award

Juno Award

The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...

 winner.

Biography

Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 in 1951, she left that country in 1969, first moving to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where she studied English at the City University of New York

City University of New York

The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...

. She lived for a time in Kitchener

Kitchener, Ontario

The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, before settling in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, where she continued her education at York University

York University

York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....

, gaining a B.A. After meeting Oku Onuora

Oku Onuora

Oku Nagba Ozala Onuora , known as the "father of Jamaican dub poetry" is a Jamaican dub poet and performer.-Biography:...

 in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 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

Juno Award

The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...

 for Best Reggae/Calypso Album for Revolutionary Tea Party in 1986 and Conditions Critical in 1988.

In 2006 Allen and her work were the subject of an episode of the television series Heart of a Poet

Heart of a Poet

Heart of a Poet is a Canadian television documentary series that premiered in April 2006, created by Maureen Judge and Tina Hahn and executive produced by Maureen Judge. The production is broadcast on Bravo!....

produced by Canadian filmmaker Maureen Judge

Maureen Judge

Maureen Judge is a critically acclaimed Canadian filmmaker and television producer. Most of her work is documentary and explores themes of love, betrayal and acceptance in the context of the modern family.-Biography:...

.

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

Canada Council

The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...

 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

Mutabaruka

Mutabaruka is a dub poet. His name comes from the Rwandan language and translates as "one who is always victorious". He lives in Potosi District, St. James with his significant other, Yvonne, and their two childern. Mutabaruka continues to perform and write poems on every issue known to man...

.

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)