ENTITY · PERSON

Oku Onuora

Well supported

Oku Onuora (born Orlando Wong, 1952, in Franklin Town, Eastern Kingston) is widely credited as the father of dub poetry. He began writing poetry in prison in 1971 while campaigning for prison reform, and in 1974 became the first inmate allowed to perform live with a reggae band. After his release in 1977 he took the name Oku Onuora and began performing alongside other poets, including Mutabaruka.

Share a memory Correct this record Add a source lead

At a glance

Type: person →
Era: Rocksteady, reggae and dub →
Confidence: Well supported

Connections

Media & sources

Audio

OKU ONUORA - Reflection In Red

YOUTUBE · rights discovery only · performs

Public youtube upload; embedded as a discovery-only reference pending editorial review.

Transcript pending ingestion.

Source link ↗

In stories

Story · Well supportedThe women of dub poetry and the spoken word

Jamaican-born women carried dub poetry's reasoning voice from Kingston yards to Toronto stages and a Halifax poet laureateship.

Story · Well supportedDub poetry and the reggae page

Dub poetry put Jamaican speech and reggae bass on the page and the stage at once, and made a form that belongs equally to Kingston, London and Toronto.