It is with a warm heart that I welcome Lillian Allen as Toronto’s Next Poet Laureate.
By way of introduction, if one is necessary, please listen to this powerful voice for our city:
Lillian Allen is an acclaimed poet, writer/performer and long-time arts activist and was named a foremother of Canadian poetry by the League of Canadian Poets. Allen is a leader in dub poetry, a politically charged, reggae-infused poetry of resistance and visionary futures.
Her most recent publication is Make the World New: The Poetry of Lillian Allen (Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2021).
Two-time JUNO Award winner and trailblazer in spoken word and dub poetry, Allen artistically explores the aesthetics of old and new sounds with her influential reggae dub poetry/spoken word recordings. Allen has been a successful cultural strategist, helping transform Toronto and Canadian cultural landscapes. She is also a professor of creative writing at Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU).
If you’re not already a follower, be sure to check out her Website: Lillian Allen.ca, her Facebook Profile and her Twitter handle!
CONGRATULATIONS Lillian Allen, Toronto’s Seventh Poet Laureate!