LOS ANGELES:

The poet and spokenDerrick Gilbert has died. word performer He was 45.

A spokeswoman for Gilbert, who was also known as D-Knowledge, says he died Nov 1 of liver disease in Los Angeles.

Gilbert was the author of the books “HennaMan” and “Catch the Fire: A Cross-Generational Anthology of Contemporary African-American Poetry.” His album, “All That and a Bag of Words,” was released in 1995.

Gilbert performed his poetry in concert with such artists as Meshell Ndegeocello, Arrested Development, Midnight Oil and Bill Cosby. He appeared in the films “Higher Learning” and “Panther.” (AP)