{{Short description|Canadian musician and poet}} {{infobox person |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|10|15}} |birth_place = Toronto, Ontario |occupation = Spoken word artist, motivational speaker |years_active = 1993 - present |education = Dr Norman Bethune Collegiate InstituteMacklin Public School{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} |political_party = New Democratic Party }}
'''Dwayne Morgan''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OOnt}} is a Canadian spoken word artist, motivational speaker and event organizer based in Toronto, Ontario.
Morgan began his career as a spoken word artist in 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dwayne Morgan |url=https://www.ontariopoet.org/copy-of-see-featured-poets |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=OntarioPoet.org |language=en}}</ref> He is the founder of Up From The Roots Entertainment, which was established in 1994 to promote the positive artistic contributions of African Canadian and urban influenced artists. He received both the African Canadian Achievement Award for Youth Achievement, and the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1998 Alumni |url=https://harryjeromeawards.com/1998-alumni/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Harry Jerome Awards |language=en-CA}}</ref> Morgan has self-published two chapbooks and three full volumes of his poetry.
As a producer, Morgan has now produced over 100 events, the largest of which are the annual spoken word concerts ''When Brothers Speak'', ''When Sisters Speak'', and the ''Toronto International Poetry Slam''. ''When Brothers Speak'' was established in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-10 |title=Dwayne Morgan celebrates 25 years of 'When Brothers Speak' |url=https://thecaribbeancamera.com/dwayne-morgan-celebrates-25-years-of-when-brothers-speak/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=The Caribbean Camera |language=en-US}}</ref> ''When Sisters Speak,'' founded in 2000 is North America’s largest and longest-running showcase of Black, female, spoken word artists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=When Sisters Speak - Kuumba |url=https://harbourfrontcentre.com/event/when-sisters-speak/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Harbourfront Centre |language=en-US}}</ref>
Morgan collaborated with Driftwood Studios to film ''Three Knocks'', a ten-minute film based on his domestic violence poem of the same name, which premiered at the 2006 Reel World Film Festival in Toronto.
He was a member of the 2007 Toronto Slam Team formed by Up From The Roots. The team finished second at the 2007 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Morgan was the host of ''Diasporic Music'', a monthly spoken word show on CKLN-FM, and is an advice columnist in the free daily paper, ''24 Hours'', in Toronto. He is also a Toronto regional representative on the board of directors for Spoken Word Canada, and is an active member of the Spoken Word Arts Network (SWAN).
Morgan was inducted into the Scarborough Hall of Fame in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-05 |title=2013 Star Inductees - Scarborough Walk of Fame |url=https://scarboroughwalkoffame.com/2013-star-inductees/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Morgan was nominated as the candidate of the New Democratic Party in Scarborough North for the 2018 Ontario general election.<ref name="GlobalNews2018elxn">{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4191721/ontario-election-2018-scarborough-north-riding/|title=Ontario election 2018: Scarborough North riding|date=30 May 2018|website=Global News|accessdate=29 September 2019}}</ref> He placed second, to the incumbent Progressive Conservative candidate, Raymond Cho.<ref name="GlobalNews2018elxn" />
In January 2024, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ontario Newsroom |url=https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/1004015/2023-order-of-ontario-appointees#resources |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=news.ontario.ca}}</ref>
==Electoral history== {{2018 Ontario general election/Scarborough North}}
== Bibliography ==
===Poetry books=== *''Long Overdue'' - one of the most popular that includes must read poems. *''The Man Behind the Mic'' *''The Making of A Man''
===Chapbooks=== *''Straight From The Roots'' *''The Revolution Starts Within''
== Awards == *African Canadian Achievement Award for Youth Achievement, 1998 *Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts, 1998<ref>{{Cite web |title=1998 Alumni |url=https://harryjeromeawards.com/1998-alumni/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Harry Jerome Awards |language=en-CA}}</ref> *''The Evolution'', Canadian Urban Music Award for Best Spoken Word Recording, 2001 *''Soul Searching'', Canadian Urban Music Award for Best Spoken Word Recording, 2003 *''"Mother I Understand"'' from ''A Decade in the Making'', Canadian Urban Music Award for Best Spoken Word Recording, 2005 *Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for Career Achievement in the Spoken Word, 2018<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-27 |title=Golden Beret Award - Sheri-D Wilson |url=https://sheridwilson.com/about/golden-beret-award/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |language=en-CA}}</ref> *Scarborough Walk of Fame Inductee, 2013
==See also== {{portal|Poetry}} *Slam poetry
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{Official website|http://dwaynemorgan.ca/}} *{{IMDb name|0604629}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Dwayne}} Category:20th-century Black Canadian musicians Category:20th-century Canadian poets Category:Canadian male poets Category:Canadian spoken word poets Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Toronto Category:Poets from Toronto Category:Slam poets Category:21st-century Canadian poets Category:Black Canadian poets Category:20th-century Canadian male writers Category:1974 births Category:21st-century Canadian male writers Category:Ontario New Democratic Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections Category:Harry Jerome Award winners Category:Members of the Order of Ontario Category:21st-century Black Canadian musicians