Lillian Allen moved from Spanish Town, Jamaica, to North America in 1969. She studied at the City University of New York, and has a B.A. from York University in Toronto. Lillian is known internationally as a pioneer of dub-poetry, and as a groundbreaker for women in the field. Her first album of poetry with music, Revolutionary Tea Party (1986), was proclaimed a Landmark Album of The Past 20 Years by Ms. Magazine in 1991. She won a Juno award for that album and a second in 1988 for Conditions Critical. (We Shall Take Our) Vancouver's Festival Records released Freedom & Dance, her third album, in 1999. Lillian has published three books of poetry: Rhythm An' Hardtimes (1983), Women Do This Every Day (Women's Press, 1994). Her work for young people includes three books: Why Me, Nothing But A Hero (for which she also released a recording) and If You See Truth.

As a playwright she has produced One Bedroom With Dignity (1987), Love & Other Strange Things (1991 and 1993), and the radio play Marketplace (1995). Her creativity also extends to film, as co-producer and co-director of Blak Wi Blakk..., a documentary on Jamaican dub poet Mutabaruka. Beyond writing, Lillian is a recognized authority and activist on issues of diversity in culture, cross cultural learning, and the arts in education. She has been consulted by and prepared major reports on these issues for Canadian organizations ranging from the Ministry of Citizenship & Culture, to the National Film Board. Her lectures and performance have taken her as far as Jamaica and Switzerland. Allen has also been Writer in Residence at Canada's University of Windsor. She is currently an educator at the Ontario College of Art and Design.