Lillian Allen (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian dub poet.
Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, she left that country in 1969, first moving to New York City, where she studied at the City University of New York. She lived for a time in Kitchener, Ontario, before settling in Toronto, Ontario, where she continued her education at York University. She released her first recording, Dub Poet: The Poetry of Lillian Allen, in 1983.
Allen won the Juno Award for Best Reggae/Calypso Album for Revolutionary Tea Party in 1986 and Conditions Critical in 1988.
She is a professor 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.
Bibliography
- 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)
