Lillian Allen is an Honorary Doctor of Canadian Letters, an acclaimed foremother of Canadian Poetry, and the City of Toronto’s 7th Poet Laureate.

A poet, writer, and performer, she has been an arts activist for many years. Champion of the spoken word genre, Lillian is a leading international exponent of dub poetry with its politically charged reggae-infused aesthetic of resistance, visionary futures, and poetic calls for justice, joy, and social transformation. Lillian has also been poetically extending language explorations into the possible essence of emotive communication and its possible grammars in the universe.

Lillian’s newest collection is Make the World New- selected works, old & new, edited by Ronald Cummings, WLU Press 2021; other books include Women Do This Every Day, Psychic Unrest, plus books and recordings for children and young people. Also, a globally recognized poet and recording artist who performs and lectures internationally, producing such works as ANXIETY, Freedom & Dance, and Woken & Unbroken, Ms. Allen is a two-time Canadian Juno award winner for Conditions Critical and for Revolutionary Tea Party, which also garnered a nomination for the prestigious Polaris Heritage Prize in Canada.