Dwayne Morgan

Dwayne Morgan [ Author + Poet + Speaker + Social Entrepreneur ]

Dwayne Morgan began his career as a spoken word artist in 1993. In 1994, he founded Up From The Roots entertainment, to promote the positive artistic contributions of African Canadian and urban influenced artists. Morgan is the 2018 winner of the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Spoken Word, and a former candidate in the 2018 Provincial Election. In 2016, Morgan was a finalist for the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2013, Morgan was inducted in to the Scarborough Walk of Fame.

Morgan is a member of the Writers Union of Canada, a 2012 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word National Poetry Slam Champion, and has received both the African Canadian Achievement Award, and the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts. Morgan is the winner of 3 Canadian Urban Music Awards (2001, 2003, 2005). In 2005, Morgan was recognized as Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Vancouver,and in 2008 his contribution to the Arts and Canadian society were recognized on the Legacy Black History Month poster.

Morgan has published ten books; No Apologies (2016), Before I Was Born (2015), Everyday Excellence (2013), Her Favourite Shoes (2011), The Sensual Musings of Dwayne Morgan (2010), The Making of A Man (2005), The Man Behind The Mic (2002), Long Overdue (1999), and chapbooks, The Revolution Starts Within (1996), and Straight From The Roots (1995). In 2009, Morgan’s work was translated into French, culminating in the book, Le Making of d’un Homme. His albums include, Another Level (1997), The Evolution (2001), Soul Searching (2003), A Decade in the Making (2004), Mellow Mood: The End of the Beginning (2007), Idle Hands (2011), Wet (2017), and Somewhere (2017). In 2008, Morgan released a commemorative DVD entitled, Dwayne Morgan The First Fifteen.

Dwayne has performed for the former Governor General of Canada, The Honourable Michaelle Jean, the late leader of the NDP, Jack Layton, and has shared the stage with many of Canada’s top artists including Russell Peters, Kardinal Offishal, Jully Black, and Nelly Furtado, while opening for international artists Alicia Keys, and recording with Canadian artists, including Drake. To further explore his creativity, Dwayne collaborated with Driftwood Studios to film Three Knocks, a ten minute film based on his domestic violence poem of the same name, which premiered in Toronto’s Reel World Film Festival. In March 2008, Dwayne hosted his first photography exhibit, The Sum of Her Parts, exploring female body image.

Dwayne’s work ethic has taken him across Canada, the United States, Jamaica, Turkey, Trinidad, Bermuda, Barbados, England, Scotland, Belgium, Budapest, Germany, France,Norway, Ghana, and Holland. His emphasis on quality has driven his success, and has made him a well-respected component of Toronto’s urban music community, as well as the North American, and Global, spoken word scenes.

Source: http://dwaynemorgan.ca/bio/