VIU Gustafson Distinguished Poet: Lillian Allen

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Wednesday, February 10th, 2021
Feb 10, 10 am Feb 11, 5 pm

JUNO-Award-Winning Dub Poet Lillian Allen to Give VIU Gustafson Lecture and Reading

* Register for both events at https://viu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-ZBP90MGQnSOKmr2A2CUqQ

Dub poetry emerged out of the 1960s Jamaican reggae scene to articulate the joy and protest of Black people; and Canadian poet Lillian Allen, the “godmother of dub,” was at the forefront of that international movement. Allen has been chosen as the 2020-21 Gustafson Distinguished Poet, and will give the Gustafson Lecture on February 11, 2021.

Lillian Allen’s first album of poetry with music, Revolutionary Tea Party (1986), and her second, Conditions Critical (1989), both won Juno Awards. Allen has published several groundbreaking books of poetry – including Rhythm An’ Hardtimes (a Canadian best seller), Psychic Unrest, and Women Do This Everyday. Her multidisciplinary work for young people includes three books: Why Me, If You See Truth, and Nothing But a Hero. Allen has also written plays and books for children, and co-produced and co-directed Blak Wi Blak, a film documentary on Jamaican dub poet Mutabaruka. She was a driving force in the in the 2003 founding of the Canadian dub poetry movement alongside Afua Cooper, Klyde Broox, Chet Singh, Clifton Joseph, and d’bi young anitafrika; and in 2004 she hosted Wordbeat, a CBC Radio program on poetry and spoken word. A collection of new and selected works, Make the World New, edited by Ronald Cummings, is due out this summer (2021) from Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Allen will deliver this year’s Gustafson Lecture online. She will also conduct a student-oriented reading and Q&A that will be open to the VIU community.