LINTON KWESI JOHNSON CD
Poet • Writer • Publisher
Linton Kwesi Johnson CD, known as LKJ, is one of Britain’s most influential poets and recording artists.
Born in Chapelton, Jamaica, in 1952, he came to London in 1963. While still at school, he joined the British Black Panther movement and helped organise a poetry workshop. His distinctive poetry, often written in Jamaican Creole and performed with reggae rhythms, documents Black British experiences of racism, policing, migration, inequality and resistance. His first collection, Voices of the Living and the Dead, appeared in 1974, followed by Dread Beat An’ Blood in 1975. He later founded LKJ Records in 1981.
Why Hackney Matters
Although closely associated with Brixton, LKJ also forms part of Hackney’s history of Black arts, performance and activism. His poetry reached Hackney audiences during the borough’s important era of grassroots Black cultural activity. In 1982, he performed at Chats Palace in Homerton to support the Newton Rose campaign. His Hackney connection continues today: in August 2026, LKJ opened the third Children’s Black Book Fair UK at Dalston CLR James Library, standing alongside a new generation of Black writers.
Did You Know?
In 2002, LKJ’s poetry entered Penguin Modern Classics, making him only the second living poet to be published in the prestigious series. His work helped transform ideas about what literary English could sound like and whose experiences it could represent.