Lemon Andersen

Lemon Andersen
Andersen at the 2012 Miami International Film Festival presentation of Lemon
Born	Andrew Andersen (1975-04-21) April 21, 1975 (age 41) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Residence	Brooklyn, New York
Other names	Lemon
Occupation	Poet, spoken word artist, actor

Lemon Andersen (born Andrew Andersen; April 21, 1975) is an American poet, spoken word artist and actor. He is sometimes credited as Lemon. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he still resides there. He is the son of Milagros “Mili” Quiñones from Puerto Rico and Peter Andersen, a Norwegian-American from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Growing up in poverty, as a teenager Lemon experienced the successive deaths of his stepfather, father, and mother from complications of heroin abuse and AIDS, leaving him and his older brother orphaned and forced to fend for themselves. Lemon became involved in serious crime, but his growing compassion first for hip hop and then acting, and a succession of gifted mentors who recognized and nurtured his theatrical talent, resulted in his development into the powerful artist portrayed in County of Kings and Lemon. Today a much-lauded "wordsmith who thinks deeply about the sounds of syllables", Lemon Andersen's writing and live performances have received widespread popular and critical acclaim. In his November 2011 TEDYouth talk Please don't take my Air Jordans, Lemon's performance of the title poem by Reg E. Gaines is followed by his own spoken-word riff on the influence of Gaines, Etheridge Knight, and other poets on his creative growth as a poet and spoken word artist.

As a poet Lemon Andersen has the most aired episodes on HBO's Def Poetry, eight times in six seasons, and was an original cast member of the Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway (2002-2003), for which he won the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event in 2003 and the Drama Desk nomination for Unique Theatrical Experience that same year. His poetry collections include Ready Made Real: Poems (2004) and County of Kings (2009), both of which were published independently by County of Kings Publishing.