Clifton Joseph

Clifton Joseph is a Canadian dub poet. ^[1] He is most noted for his 1989 album Oral/Trans/Missions, from which the song "Chuckie Prophesy" was a shortlisted Juno Award finalist for Best Reggae Recording at the Juno Awards of 1990. ^[2]

A native of Antigua, Joseph moved to Canada with his family in the 1970s. ^[3] He published the poetry book Metropolitan Blues in 1983, but has been associated primarily with performance poetry. ^[3] Alongside Lillian Allen and Devon Haughton, he was one of the pioneers of dub poetry in Canada; ^[4] the three collaborated on the compilation album De Dub Poets in 1982. ^[5]

Joseph has also been a broadcaster and journalist, including stints as a correspondent for TVOntario's literary program Imprint , ^[6] as a reporter for CBC Television's news series Undercurrents , Marketplace and The National , ^[5] and as a writer for the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail . He was a two-time winner of the Gemini Award for Best Writing in an Information Program or Series for his work on Undercurrents in 1998 ^[7] and 1999. ^[8]

In 2017, he was nominated for the League of Canadian Poets' Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for spoken word poets. ^[9]

References

1. "Scat, rap, soca, soul, a dub poet sings it all". Toronto Star , April 5, 1988.
2. "Up for Junos". Edmonton Journal , February 8, 1990.
3. "Dub poet Clifton Joseph; Verse comes at so many syllables to the bar". Ottawa Citizen , September 6, 1992.
4. "The poetry of resistance". Halifax Daily News , November 24, 1999.
5. "Clifton Joseph to perform at Dub Trinity tonight". Peterborough Examiner , March 27, 2003.
6. "Book some time for Imprint". The Globe and Mail , October 3, 1990.
7. "Gemini winners". Toronto Star , October 5, 1998.
8. "CBC News big Gemini winner on first night". Welland Tribune , November 6, 1999.
9. "National Poetry Month celebrated with award nominations". Toronto Star , April 6, 2017.