Linton Kwesi Johnson

About

Linton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ), born 24 August 1952, Chapelton, Clarendon, Jamaica and move to Brixton, London, UK at 9 so is a British-based author and dub poet. In high school, he joined the English "Black Panther" who helped him create a poetry workshop and then joined a small group of percussionists and poets, the "Rasta Love". He began to be published in the magazine "Race Today" in 1973 after graduating in sociology. He released his first book of poetry in 1974 (Voices of the Living and the Dead) followed by his second in 1975 (Dread Beat an' Blood) which was the title of his first album in 1978. He released his third book in 1980 (England is a Bitch) followed by his second album (Forces of Victory) which brought him recognition and allowed him to work for the media in various cultural programs.

Johnson's poetry makes clever use of the unstandardised transcription of Jamaican Patois and is allied to the Jamaican "toasting" tradition. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. He is the greatest representative of "Dub Poetry".
He run the Label LKJ Records in 1991.
In 2020 the pioneer of dub poetry has been awarded the prestigious PEN Pinter prize for his "political ferocity and tireless scrutiny of history".

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