Benjamin Zephaniah: Difference between revisions
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He won the [[BBC Radio 4]] Young Playwrights Festival Award in 1998 and was the recipient of at least sixteen [[honorary doctorate]]s. A ward at [[Ealing Hospital]] was also named in his honour. His second novel, ''[[Refugee Boy]],'' was the recipient of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award in the Longer Novel category. In 1982, he released an album, ''Rasta,'' which featured [[The Wailers Band|the Wailers]] performing for the first time since the death of [[Bob Marley]], acting as a tribute to [[Nelson Mandela]]. It topped the charts in [[Yugoslavia]], and due to its success Mandela invited Zephaniah to host the president's Two Nations Concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], London, in 1996. As an actor, he had a major role in the BBC's ''[[Peaky Blinders (TV series)|Peaky Blinders]]'' between 2013 and 2022. |
He won the [[BBC Radio 4]] Young Playwrights Festival Award in 1998 and was the recipient of at least sixteen [[honorary doctorate]]s. A ward at [[Ealing Hospital]] was also named in his honour. His second novel, ''[[Refugee Boy]],'' was the recipient of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award in the Longer Novel category. In 1982, he released an album, ''Rasta,'' which featured [[The Wailers Band|the Wailers]] performing for the first time since the death of [[Bob Marley]], acting as a tribute to [[Nelson Mandela]]. It topped the charts in [[Yugoslavia]], and due to its success Mandela invited Zephaniah to host the president's Two Nations Concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], London, in 1996. As an actor, he had a major role in the BBC's ''[[Peaky Blinders (TV series)|Peaky Blinders]]'' between 2013 and 2022. |
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A [[Veganism|vegan]] and [[Animal rights movement|animal rights activist]], who self-identified as an [[Anarchism|anarchist]], Zephaniah supported changing the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British electoral system]] from [[First-past-the-post voting|first-past-the-post]] to [[Instant-runoff voting|alternative vote]]. |
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In 2003, |
In 2003, Zephaniah was offered appointment as an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) but publicly [[declining a British honour|rejected the honour]], stating that: "I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers, brutalised". |
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==Early life and education== |
==Early life and education== |
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Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Springer was born on 15 April 1958,<ref name="Gregory">{{cite book |last=Gregory |first=Andy |year=2002 |title=International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 |publisher=Europa |page=562 |isbn=1-85743-161-8}}</ref><ref name="Guardian obituary">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/benjamin-zephaniah-obituary|title=Benjamin Zephaniah obituary|first=Peter|last=Mason|newspaper=The Guardian|date=7 December 2023|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208131249/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/benjamin-zephaniah-obituary|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph-obit">{{cite news |title=Benjamin Zephaniah, poet treasured as 'the people's laureate' who performed to a reggae backbeat – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/12/07/benjamin-zephaniah-dub-poet-reggae-novelist-birmingham/ |access-date=8 December 2023 |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=7 December 2023|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> in the [[Handsworth, West Midlands|Handsworth]] district of Birmingham, England, where he was also raised.<ref name=bbc7dec/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth105 |title=Benjamin Zephaniah |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003022123/http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth105 |archive-date=3 October 2007 |publisher=British Council}}</ref> He referred to this area as the "Jamaican capital of Europe".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2006/03/23/benjamin_feature.shtml|title=Handsworth Spirit|first=Mandisa|last=Gordon|publisher=BBC|date=28 October 2014|access-date=11 August 2021|archive-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811072743/http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2006/03/23/benjamin_feature.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> |
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Springer was born on 15 April 1958,<ref name="Gregory">{{cite book |last=Gregory |first=Andy |year=2002 |title=International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 |publisher=Europa |page=562 |isbn=1-85743-161-8}}</ref><ref name="Guardian obituary">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/benjamin-zephaniah-obituary|title=Benjamin Zephaniah obituary|first=Peter|last=Mason|author-link=Peter Mason (journalist and author)|newspaper=The Guardian|date=7 December 2023|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208131249/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/benjamin-zephaniah-obituary|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph-obit">{{cite news |title=Benjamin Zephaniah, poet treasured as 'the people's laureate' who performed to a reggae backbeat – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/12/07/benjamin-zephaniah-dub-poet-reggae-novelist-birmingham/ |access-date=8 December 2023 |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=7 December 2023|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> in the [[Handsworth, West Midlands|Handsworth]] district of Birmingham, England, where he was also raised.<ref name=bbc7dec/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth105 |title=Benjamin Zephaniah |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003022123/http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth105 |archive-date=3 October 2007 |publisher=British Council}}</ref> He referred to this area as the "Jamaican capital of Europe".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2006/03/23/benjamin_feature.shtml|title=Handsworth Spirit|first=Mandisa|last=Gordon|publisher=BBC|date=28 October 2014|access-date=11 August 2021|archive-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811072743/http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2006/03/23/benjamin_feature.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> The son of parents who had migrated from the Caribbean – Oswald Springer, a [[Barbados|Barbadian]] postman, and Leneve (née Honeyghan),<ref>{{cite book| last= Zephaniah| first= Benjamin|year= 2019| title= The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah| publisher= Scribner UK | page=22|isbn= 978-1-471-16895-6}}</ref> a [[Jamaicans|Jamaican]] nurse who came to Britain in 1956 and worked for the [[National Health Service]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-benjamin-zephaniah-scared-after-two-family-members-die-of-covid-19-12000752|title=Coronavirus: Benjamin Zephaniah 'scared' after two family members die of COVID-19|website=Sky News|date=5 June 2020|access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> – he had a total of seven younger siblings, including his twin sister, Velda.<ref name="Guardian obituary" /><ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref name="Kellaway">{{cite news|last=Kellaway|first=Kate|author-link=Kate Kellaway|date=4 November 2001|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/nov/04/poetry.fiction|title=Dread poet's society|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226071305/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/nov/04/poetry.fiction|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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Zephaniah wrote that he was strongly influenced by the [[Music of Jamaica|music]] and poetry of [[Jamaica]] and what he called "street politics", and he said in a 2005 interview: {{blockquote|Well, for most of the early part of my life I thought poetry was an oral thing. We used to listen to tapes from Jamaica of [[Louise Bennett]], who we think of as the queen of all dub poets. For me, it was two things: it was words wanting to say something and words creating rhythm. Written poetry was a very strange thing that white people did.<ref name="High Profiles">{{cite web|url=https://highprofiles.info/interview/benjamin-zephaniah/|title=Dread Right?|first=Simon Joseph|last=Jones|website=High Profiles|date=24 May 2005|access-date=13 December 2023|archive-date=13 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213012638/https://highprofiles.info/interview/benjamin-zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} His first performance was in church when he was 11 years old, resulting in him adopting the name Zephaniah (after [[Zephaniah|the biblical prophet]]),<ref name="Guardian obituary" /> and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's [[British African-Caribbean community|Afro-Caribbean]] and Asian communities.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |author-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |author-last=Larkin |author-first=Colin |date=1998 |title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae |publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=0-7535-0242-9}}</ref> |
Zephaniah wrote that he was strongly influenced by the [[Music of Jamaica|music]] and poetry of [[Jamaica]] and what he called "street politics", and he said in a 2005 interview: {{blockquote|Well, for most of the early part of my life I thought poetry was an oral thing. We used to listen to tapes from Jamaica of [[Louise Bennett]], who we think of as the queen of all dub poets. For me, it was two things: it was words wanting to say something and words creating rhythm. Written poetry was a very strange thing that white people did.<ref name="High Profiles">{{cite web|url=https://highprofiles.info/interview/benjamin-zephaniah/|title=Dread Right?|first=Simon Joseph|last=Jones|website=High Profiles|date=24 May 2005|access-date=13 December 2023|archive-date=13 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213012638/https://highprofiles.info/interview/benjamin-zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} His first performance was in church when he was 11 years old, resulting in him adopting the name Zephaniah (after [[Zephaniah|the biblical prophet]]),<ref name="Guardian obituary" /> and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's [[British African-Caribbean community|Afro-Caribbean]] and Asian communities.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |author-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |author-last=Larkin |author-first=Colin |date=1998 |title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae |publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=0-7535-0242-9}}</ref> |
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The gift, during his childhood, of an old, manual [[typewriter]] inspired him to become a writer. It is now in the collection of [[Birmingham Museums Trust]].<ref name="AR">{{Cite episode |title=Aston Hall 1 |series=Antiques Roadshow |series-link=Antiques Roadshow |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0011g6p/ |access-date=11 November 2021 |network= [[BBC Television]]|date=7 November 2021 |series-no=44 |number=4 }}</ref> |
The gift, during his childhood, of an old, manual [[typewriter]] inspired him to become a writer. It is now in the collection of [[Birmingham Museums Trust]].<ref name="AR">{{Cite episode |title=Aston Hall 1 |series=Antiques Roadshow |series-link=Antiques Roadshow |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0011g6p/ |access-date=11 November 2021 |network= [[BBC Television]]|date=7 November 2021 |series-no=44 |number=4 }}</ref> |
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As a youth, he spent time in [[borstal]] and in his late teens received a criminal record and served a prison sentence for burglary.<ref name="Guardian obituary" /><ref name="Kellaway" /><ref |
As a youth, he spent time in [[borstal]] and in his late teens received a criminal record and served a prison sentence for burglary.<ref name="Guardian obituary" /><ref name="Kellaway" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/28/benjamin-zephaniah-abuse-crime-peoples-poet-autobiography|title='I went off the rails': how Benjamin Zephaniah went from borstal to poet|first=Dalya|last=Alberge|newspaper=The Observer |date=28 January 2018|via=The Guardian|access-date=7 December 2023|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331095603/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/28/benjamin-zephaniah-abuse-crime-peoples-poet-autobiography|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/182.php |title=Interview with ''Raw Edge Magazine'': Benjamin talks about how life in prison helped change his future as a poet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520171430/http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/182.php |archive-date=20 May 2009 |magazine=Raw Edge |issue=5 |date=Autumn–Winter 1997}}</ref> Tired of the limitations of being a black poet communicating with black people only, he decided to expand his audience, and in 1979, at the age of 22, he headed to London, where his first book would be published the next year.<ref name=bio>{{cite web |url=https://benjaminzephaniah.com/biography/ |title=Biography |publisher=Benjamin Zephaniah|access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/zephaniah-benjamin-1958/|title=Benjamin Zephaniah (1958– )|website=[[Blackpast.org]]|first=Emily|last=Cousins|date=7 June 2010|access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref> |
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While living in London, Zephaniah was |
While living in London, Zephaniah was assaulted during the [[1981 Brixton riot]]s and chronicled his experiences on his 1982 album ''Rasta''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.redpepper.org.uk/culture-media/stage-screen/reforming-has-done-nothing-thats-why-im-an-anarchist/|title='Reforming has done nothing. That's why I'm an anarchist.' An interview with Benjamin Zephaniah|website=[[Red Pepper (newspaper)|Red Pepper]]|first=Anu S|last=hukla|date=10 April 2018|access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref> He experienced racism on a regular basis:<ref name="Maciuca">{{Cite web|last=Maciuca|first=Andra|date=29 October 2019|title=Benjamin Zephaniah on Nelson Mandela, Bob Marley and race riots|url=https://www.saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk/things-to-do/benjamin-zephaniah-about-his-life-at-saffron-hall-5427336|access-date=29 April 2021|website=Saffron Walden Reporter|language=en-UK|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429185702/https://www.saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk/things-to-do/benjamin-zephaniah-about-his-life-at-saffron-hall-5427336|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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{{blockquote|They happened around me. Back then, racism was very in your face. There was the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]] against black and foreign people and the police were also very racist. I got stopped four times after I bought a [[BMW]] when I became successful with poetry. I kept getting stopped by the police so I sold it.}} |
{{blockquote|They happened around me. Back then, racism was very in your face. There was the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]] against black and foreign people and the police were also very racist. I got stopped four times after I bought a [[BMW]] when I became successful with poetry. I kept getting stopped by the police so I sold it.}} |
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In a session with [[John Peel]] on 1 February 1983 – one of two [[John Peel#Peel sessions|Peel sessions]] he recorded that year – Zephaniah's responses were recorded in such poems as "Dis Policeman", "The Boat", "Riot in Progress" and "Uprising Downtown".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWRwaXNcr-c|title= BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH John Peel 1st February 1983|via=YouTube|access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ky24y|title=6 Music Live Hour {{!}} Benjamin Zephaniah - Archive session (1994)|website=BBC Radio 6|access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref> |
In a session with [[John Peel]] on 1 February 1983 – one of two [[John Peel#Peel sessions|Peel sessions]] he recorded that year – Zephaniah's responses were recorded in such poems as "Dis Policeman", "The Boat", "Riot in Progress" and "Uprising Downtown".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWRwaXNcr-c|title= BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH John Peel 1st February 1983|date= 6 April 2018|via=YouTube|access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ky24y|title=6 Music Live Hour {{!}} Benjamin Zephaniah - Archive session (1994)|website=BBC Radio 6|access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref> |
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==Written work and poetry== |
==Written work and poetry== |
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Having moved to London, Zephaniah became actively involved in a workers' co-operative in [[Stratford, London|Stratford]], which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, ''Pen Rhythm'' (Page One Books, 1980). He had earlier been turned down by other publishers who did not believe there would be an audience for his work, and "they didn't understand it because it was supposed to be performed".<ref name=h2g2>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mb6music/A34354343|title=Benjamin Zephaniah – Poet, Novelist, Playwright and Activist|website=[[h2g2]]|publisher=BBC|date=12 May 2008|access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref> Three editions of ''Pen Rhythm'' were published. Zephaniah said that his mission was to fight the dead image of poetry in [[academia]], and to "take [it] everywhere" to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances,<ref name="bio" /> sometimes with The Benjamin Zephaniah Band.<ref name=bio /><ref name="Bookseller 7 December 2023">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65|title=Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65|first=Sian|last=Bayley|magazine=[[The Bookseller]]|date=7 December 2023|access-date=13 December 2023|archive-date=13 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213020555/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65|url-status=live}}</ref> |
Having moved to London, Zephaniah became actively involved in a workers' co-operative in [[Stratford, London|Stratford]], which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, ''Pen Rhythm'' (Page One Books, 1980). He had earlier been turned down by other publishers who did not believe there would be an audience for his work, and "they didn't understand it because it was supposed to be performed".<ref name=h2g2>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mb6music/A34354343|title=Benjamin Zephaniah – Poet, Novelist, Playwright and Activist|website=[[h2g2]]|publisher=BBC|date=12 May 2008|access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref> Three editions of ''Pen Rhythm'' were published. Zephaniah said that his mission was to fight the dead image of poetry in [[academia]], and to "take [it] everywhere" to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances,<ref name="bio" /> sometimes with The Benjamin Zephaniah Band.<ref name=bio /><ref name="Bookseller 7 December 2023">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65|title=Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65|first=Sian|last=Bayley|magazine=[[The Bookseller]]|date=7 December 2023|access-date=13 December 2023|archive-date=13 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213020555/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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His second collection of poetry, ''The Dread Affair: Collected Poems'' (1985), contained a number of poems attacking the [[United Kingdom law|British legal system]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Alghanem |first=Alanoud Abdulaziz |date=21 May 2023 |title=Remaking Britain: The Afro-Caribbean Impact on English Literature |url=https://namibian-studies.com/index.php/JNS/article/view/833 |journal=Journal of Namibian Studies |
His second collection of poetry, ''The Dread Affair: Collected Poems'' (1985), contained a number of poems attacking the [[United Kingdom law|British legal system]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Alghanem |first=Alanoud Abdulaziz |date=21 May 2023 |title=Remaking Britain: The Afro-Caribbean Impact on English Literature |url=https://namibian-studies.com/index.php/JNS/article/view/833 |journal=Journal of Namibian Studies: History Politics Culture |language=en |volume=33 |pages=2096–2118 |doi=10.59670/jns.v33i.833 |s2cid=259408168 |issn=2197-5523|doi-access=free }}</ref> ''Rasta Time in Palestine'' (1990), an account of a visit to the [[Palestinian occupied territories]], contained poetry and travelogue.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sathyadas |first=Susan |url=https://ia600601.us.archive.org/29/items/9.IJELAUG20179/9.IJELAUG20179.pdf |title=Benjamin Zephaniah: Contemporary Voice of Resistance in Black Britain |journal=International Journal of English and Literature |volume=7 |issue=4 |date=2017 |pages=83–90 |doi=10.24247/ijelaug20179 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 }}</ref> |
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Zephaniah was poet-in-residence at the chambers of [[Michael Mansfield]] QC, and sat in on the inquiry into [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]] and other cases,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/20/law.poetry|title=Poetic justice|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Marcel|last=Berlins|author-link=Marcel Berlins|date=20 November 2000}}</ref> these experiences led to his ''Too Black, Too Strong'' poetry collection (2001).<ref name="Kellaway" /> ''We Are Britain!'' (2002) is a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain.<ref name=":0" /> |
Zephaniah was poet-in-residence at the chambers of [[Michael Mansfield]] QC, and sat in on the inquiry into [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]] and other cases,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/20/law.poetry|title=Poetic justice|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Marcel|last=Berlins|author-link=Marcel Berlins|date=20 November 2000}}</ref> these experiences led to his ''Too Black, Too Strong'' poetry collection (2001).<ref name="Kellaway" /> ''We Are Britain!'' (2002) is a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain.<ref name=":0" /> |
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In 2016, Zephaniah wrote the foreword to ''[[Angry White People|Angry White People: Coming Face-to-Face with the British Far Right]]'' by [[Hsiao-Hung Pai]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 February 2016 |first=Benjamin |last=Zephaniah |title=Benjamin Zephaniah on fighting the far right: 'If we did nothing we would be killed on the streets' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/28/if-we-did-nothing-we-would-be-killed-on-the-streets-benjamin-zephaniah-on-fighting-the-far-right |access-date=29 April 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=28 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228165711/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/28/if-we-did-nothing-we-would-be-killed-on-the-streets-benjamin-zephaniah-on-fighting-the-far-right |url-status=live }}</ref> |
In 2016, Zephaniah wrote the foreword to ''[[Angry White People|Angry White People: Coming Face-to-Face with the British Far Right]]'' by [[Hsiao-Hung Pai]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 February 2016 |first=Benjamin |last=Zephaniah |title=Benjamin Zephaniah on fighting the far right: 'If we did nothing we would be killed on the streets' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/28/if-we-did-nothing-we-would-be-killed-on-the-streets-benjamin-zephaniah-on-fighting-the-far-right |access-date=29 April 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=28 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228165711/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/28/if-we-did-nothing-we-would-be-killed-on-the-streets-benjamin-zephaniah-on-fighting-the-far-right |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Zephaniah's frank autobiography, ''The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah'', was published to coincide with his 60th birthday in 2018, when [[BBC Sounds]] broadcast him reading his own text. "I'm still as angry as I was in my twenties," he said.<ref name="Jonasson">{{cite magazine |last=Jonasson |first=Jonas |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/ss-scoops-zephaniah-s-memoir-611396 | |
Zephaniah's frank autobiography, ''The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah'', was published to coincide with his 60th birthday in 2018, when [[BBC Sounds]] broadcast him reading his own text. "I'm still as angry as I was in my twenties," he said.<ref name="Jonasson">{{cite magazine |last=Jonasson |first=Jonas |date=15 August 2017 |title=S&S scoops Zephaniah's memoir |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/ss-scoops-zephaniah-s-memoir-611396 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075419/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/ss-scoops-zephaniah-s-memoir-611396 |archive-date=27 August 2018 |access-date=27 August 2018 |magazine=[[The Bookseller]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/b0b22980 | title=The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah | publisher=BBC Sounds | date=30 April 2018 | access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref> The book was nominated as "autobiography of the year" at the [[British Book Awards|National Book Awards]].<ref name="bbc7dec" /> |
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The ''[[Birmingham Mail]]'' dubbed him "The people's laureate".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-Life-and-Rhymes-of-Benjamin-Zephaniah/Benjamin-Zephaniah/9781471168956 | title=The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah | publisher=Simon & Schuster | date=2 May 2019 | isbn=9781471168956 | access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref> |
The ''[[Birmingham Mail]]'' dubbed him "The people's laureate".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-Life-and-Rhymes-of-Benjamin-Zephaniah/Benjamin-Zephaniah/9781471168956 | title=The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah | publisher=Simon & Schuster | date=2 May 2019 | isbn=9781471168956 | access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref> |
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==Music== |
==Music== |
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In 1982, Zephaniah released the album ''Rasta'', which featured [[Wailers Band|the Wailers]]' first recording since the death of [[Bob Marley]] as well as a tribute to the political prisoner (later to become South African president) [[Nelson Mandela]]. The album gained Zephaniah international prestige<ref name="brighton">{{cite web|title=Brighton Magazine – Benjamin Zephaniah: Well Read Rastafarian Poet Comes To Lewes|url=http://magazine.brighton.co.uk/Clubs-and-Music/Reviews/Benjamin_Zephaniah_Well_Read_Rastafarian_Poet_Comes_To_Lewes/21_45_2223#a|work=Magazine.brighton.co.uk|date=21 June 2023|access-date=18 June 2013|archive-date=15 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215142842/https://magazine.brighton.co.uk/Clubs-and-Music/Reviews/Benjamin_Zephaniah_Well_Read_Rastafarian_Poet_Comes_To_Lewes/21_45_2223#a|url-status=live}}</ref> and topped the [[Yugoslavia]]n pop charts.<ref name="Larkin" /><ref name="brighton" /> It was because of this recording that he was introduced to Mandela, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], London.<ref name="Maciuca"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Benjamin Zephaniah – Nelson Mandela {{!}} urbanimage.tv|url=https://urbanimage.photoshelter.com/image/I0000XMNIQyA3fPw|access-date=29 April 2021|website=urbanimage.photoshelter.com|archive-date=15 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215142843/https://www.urbanimage.tv/image/I0000XMNIQyA3fPw|url-status=live}}</ref> |
In 1982, Zephaniah released the album ''Rasta'', which featured [[Wailers Band|the Wailers]]' first recording since the death of [[Bob Marley]] as well as a tribute to the political prisoner (later to become South African president) [[Nelson Mandela]]. The album gained Zephaniah international prestige<ref name="brighton">{{cite web|title=Brighton Magazine – Benjamin Zephaniah: Well Read Rastafarian Poet Comes To Lewes|url=http://magazine.brighton.co.uk/Clubs-and-Music/Reviews/Benjamin_Zephaniah_Well_Read_Rastafarian_Poet_Comes_To_Lewes/21_45_2223#a|work=Magazine.brighton.co.uk|first=Mike |last=Cobley|date=21 June 2023|access-date=18 June 2013|archive-date=15 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215142842/https://magazine.brighton.co.uk/Clubs-and-Music/Reviews/Benjamin_Zephaniah_Well_Read_Rastafarian_Poet_Comes_To_Lewes/21_45_2223#a|url-status=live}}</ref> and topped the [[Yugoslavia]]n pop charts.<ref name="Larkin" /><ref name="brighton" /> It was because of this recording that he was introduced to Mandela, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], London.<ref name="Maciuca"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Benjamin Zephaniah – Nelson Mandela {{!}} urbanimage.tv|url=https://urbanimage.photoshelter.com/image/I0000XMNIQyA3fPw|access-date=29 April 2021|website=urbanimage.photoshelter.com|archive-date=15 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215142843/https://www.urbanimage.tv/image/I0000XMNIQyA3fPw|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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Zephaniah released a total of seven albums of original music.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Perry |title=Benjamin Zephaniah interview about ''Naked'' |url=http://thebeaverdialogues.blogspot.com/2006/03/benjamin-zephaniah-interview.html |publisher=[[The Beaver (newspaper)|The Beaver]] |date=7 March 2006 |access-date=29 September 2010 |location=London |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708065705/http://thebeaverdialogues.blogspot.com/2006/03/benjamin-zephaniah-interview.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
Zephaniah released a total of seven albums of original music.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Perry |title=Benjamin Zephaniah interview about ''Naked'' |url=http://thebeaverdialogues.blogspot.com/2006/03/benjamin-zephaniah-interview.html |publisher=[[The Beaver (newspaper)|The Beaver]] |date=7 March 2006 |access-date=29 September 2010 |location=London |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708065705/http://thebeaverdialogues.blogspot.com/2006/03/benjamin-zephaniah-interview.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Views== |
==Views== |
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⚫ | Zephaniah was connected with – and served as patron for – many organizations that aligned with his beliefs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://benjaminzephaniah.com/biography/|title=Biography {{!}} CV Type Thing|website=Benjamin Zephaniah|access-date=16 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126165730/https://benjaminzephaniah.com/biography/|archive-date=26 November 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/benjamin-zephaniah/youth-employment-futureversity_b_1842085.html|title=Youth Unemployment: I Wanted to Use Poetry to Speak for Myself|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=October 30, 2012|access-date=16 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216233239/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/benjamin-zephaniah/youth-employment-futureversity_b_1842085.html|archive-date=16 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Zephaniah was connected with – and served as patron for – many organizations that aligned with his beliefs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://benjaminzephaniah.com/biography/|title=Biography {{!}} CV Type Thing|website=Benjamin Zephaniah|access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/benjamin-zephaniah/youth-employment-futureversity_b_1842085.html|title=Youth Unemployment: I Wanted to Use Poetry to Speak for Myself|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=October 30, 2012|access-date=16 December 2023}}</ref> |
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===Animal rights and veganism=== |
===Animal rights and veganism=== |
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Zephaniah became a [[vegetarian]] at the age of 11,<ref name="guard-28dec2022">{{cite news |last1=Zephaniah |first1=Benjamin |title='I'll stop saying I don't eat meat – and tell people I don't eat animals': the thing I'll do differently in 2023 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/28/benjamin-zephaniah-tell-people-i-dont-eat-animals-thing-ill-do-differently |access-date=28 December 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 December 2022 |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228100434/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/28/benjamin-zephaniah-tell-people-i-dont-eat-animals-thing-ill-do-differently |url-status=live }}</ref> and then became a [[vegan]] at the age of 13,<ref>{{Cite web|last= |
Zephaniah became a [[vegetarian]] at the age of 11,<ref name="guard-28dec2022">{{cite news |last1=Zephaniah |first1=Benjamin |title='I'll stop saying I don't eat meat – and tell people I don't eat animals': the thing I'll do differently in 2023 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/28/benjamin-zephaniah-tell-people-i-dont-eat-animals-thing-ill-do-differently |access-date=28 December 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 December 2022 |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228100434/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/28/benjamin-zephaniah-tell-people-i-dont-eat-animals-thing-ill-do-differently |url-status=live }}</ref> and then became a [[vegan]] at the age of 13,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ridgers|first=Karin|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: The Interview|url=https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/vegan-lifestyle/interviews/benjamin-zephaniah-interview/#:~:text=Turning%20vegan%20at%2013%20Benjamin,ram%20veganism%20down%20peoples%20throats%E2%80%9D.|access-date=29 April 2021|website=www.veganfoodandliving.com|date=4 July 2016|language=en-GB|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429185704/https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/vegan-lifestyle/interviews/benjamin-zephaniah-interview/#:~:text=Turning%20vegan%20at%2013%20Benjamin,ram%20veganism%20down%20peoples%20throats%E2%80%9D.|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=17 July 2010|title=Interview: Benjamin Zephaniah|first=John|last=Hind|url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/benjamin-zephaniah-life-on-a-plate|access-date=29 April 2021|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501052412/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/benjamin-zephaniah-life-on-a-plate|url-status=live}}</ref> when he read poems about "shimmering fish floating in an underwater paradise, and birds flying free in the clear blue sky". |
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He was an honorary patron of [[The Vegan Society]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vegansociety.com/html/about_us/patrons.php |title=Honorary Patrons |publisher=Vegansociety.com |access-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928042755/http://www.vegansociety.com/html/about_us/patrons.php |archive-date=28 September 2011 }}</ref> [[ |
He was an honorary patron of [[The Vegan Society]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vegansociety.com/html/about_us/patrons.php |title=Honorary Patrons |publisher=Vegansociety.com |access-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928042755/http://www.vegansociety.com/html/about_us/patrons.php |archive-date=28 September 2011 }}</ref> [[Viva! (organisation)|Viva!]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Benjamin Zephaniah |url=https://viva.org.uk/lifestyle/living-vegan/celebrities/writers/benjamin-zephaniah/ |website=Viva! The Vegan Charity |orig-date=Original date 6 November 2020 |date=2024-02-23}}</ref> and [[EVOLVE! Campaigns]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.evolvecampaigns.org.uk/ |title=Evolve Campaigns |publisher=EVOLVE! Campaigns |access-date=10 May 2011 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215142843/http://evolvecampaigns.org.uk/evolve/default.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> and was an [[animal rights]] advocate. In 2004, he wrote the foreword to [[Keith Mann]]'s book ''From Dusk 'til Dawn: An insider's view of the growth of the Animal Liberation Movement'', a book about the [[Animal Liberation Front]]. In August 2007, he announced that he would be launching the Animal Liberation Project, alongside [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arkangelweb.org/international/uk/20070801benjaminzephaniah.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417015512/http://www.arkangelweb.org/international/uk/20070801benjaminzephaniah.php|url-status=dead|title=UK {{!}} Benjamin Zephaniah set to launch 'Animal Liberation Project'|archivedate=17 April 2008|website=[[Arkangel (magazine)|Arkangel Magazine]]|date=1 August 2007}}</ref> In February 2001, his book ''The Little Book of Vegan Poems'' was published by [[AK Press]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Little Book Of Vegan Poems by Benjamin Zephaniah {{!}} Waterstones|url=https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-little-book-of-vegan-poems/benjamin-zephaniah/9781902593333|access-date=29 April 2021|website=www.waterstones.com|language=en|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429185702/https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-little-book-of-vegan-poems/benjamin-zephaniah/9781902593333|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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===Anti-racism activism=== |
===Anti-racism activism=== |
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===Political views=== |
===Political views=== |
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Zephaniah self-identified as an [[anarchist]];<ref>{{cite web |first=Benjamin | |
Zephaniah self-identified as an [[anarchist]];<ref>{{cite web |last=Zephaniah |first=Benjamin |date=June 2019 |title=Why I Am an Anarchist |url=http://dogsection.org/why-i-am-an-anarchist/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621013239/http://dogsection.org/why-i-am-an-anarchist/ |archive-date=21 June 2019 |website=[[Dog Section Press]]}}</ref> observing in a 2022 interview: "...there are places that live without government and live peacefully and happily. A lack of power means people of course aren't fighting over it and the main objective of society is to look after each other."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.palatinate.org.uk/benjamin-zephaniah-i-can-make-people-think-and-change-their-minds/|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: 'I can make people think and change their minds'|website=[[Palatinate (newspaper)|Palatinate]]|first=Arjun|last=Seth|date=27 October 2022|access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref> He appeared in literature to support changing the [[British elections|British electoral system]] from [[First-past-the-post voting|first-past-the-post]] to [[Instant-runoff voting|alternative vote]] for electing [[members of parliament]] to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in the [[2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum|Alternative Vote referendum]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12950712 | title= Benjamin Zephaniah 'airbrushed from Yes to AV leaflets' | work= BBC News | date= 3 April 2011 | access-date= 20 June 2018 | archive-date= 24 November 2018 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181124222108/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12950712 | url-status= live }}</ref> In a 2017 interview, commenting on the ongoing [[Brexit negotiations]], Zephaniah stated: "For left-wing reasons, I think we should leave the [[European Union|EU]] but the way that we're leaving is completely wrong."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/12/benjamin-zephaniah-qa-my-first-racist-attack-was-brick-back-head |title=Benjamin Zephaniah Q&A: 'My first racist attack was a brick in the back of the head' |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=4 December 2017 |website=[[New Statesman]] |access-date=9 December 2017 |archive-date=10 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510164205/https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/12/benjamin-zephaniah-qa-my-first-racist-attack-was-brick-back-head |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] under [[Jeremy Corbyn]]'s leadership in the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]]. The letter stated: "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."<ref name="theguardian1">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/vote-for-hope-and-a-decent-future|title=Letters {{!}} Vote for hope and a decent future|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2019|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203234134/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/vote-for-hope-and-a-decent-future|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="theguardian2">{{cite news|last=Proctor|first=Kate|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/coogan-klein-lead-cultural-figures-backing-corbyn-labour|title=Coogan and Klein lead cultural figures backing Corbyn and Labour|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2019|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=11 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911180550/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/coogan-klein-lead-cultural-figures-backing-corbyn-labour|url-status=live}}</ref> |
In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] under [[Jeremy Corbyn]]'s leadership in the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]]. The letter stated: "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."<ref name="theguardian1">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/vote-for-hope-and-a-decent-future|title=Letters {{!}} Vote for hope and a decent future|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2019|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203234134/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/vote-for-hope-and-a-decent-future|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="theguardian2">{{cite news|last=Proctor|first=Kate|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/coogan-klein-lead-cultural-figures-backing-corbyn-labour|title=Coogan and Klein lead cultural figures backing Corbyn and Labour|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2019|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=11 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911180550/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/coogan-klein-lead-cultural-figures-backing-corbyn-labour|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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[[File:Benjaminzephaniahcamff.jpg|thumb|right|Collecting the Hancock at [[Cambridge Folk Festival]] 2008, with [[Martin Carthy]] looking on]] |
[[File:Benjaminzephaniahcamff.jpg|thumb|right|Collecting the Hancock at [[Cambridge Folk Festival]] 2008, with [[Martin Carthy]] looking on]] |
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In 1998, Zephaniah was a winner of the [[BBC]] Young Playwrights Festival Award with his first ever radio play ''Hurricane Dub''.<ref name="Gregory" /><ref name= "British Council - Literature" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jhnmc/p01jhmr9| |
In 1998, Zephaniah was a winner of the [[BBC]] Young Playwrights Festival Award with his first ever radio play ''Hurricane Dub''.<ref name="Gregory" /><ref name= "British Council - Literature" /><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Radio Young Writers: 25 Years On |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jhnmc/p01jhmr9 |access-date=17 December 2023 |publisher=[[BBC Radio 4]]}}</ref> |
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In 1999, he was the subject of an illustrated biographical children's book by [[Verna Wilkins]], entitled ''Benjamin Zephaniah: A Profile'', published in the Black Stars Series of [[Tamarind Books]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1KHDOQAACAAJ|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: A Profile|first=Verna|last=Wilkins|publisher=Tamarind|location=London|isbn=9781870516389|date=1999}}</ref> |
In 1999, he was the subject of an illustrated biographical children's book by [[Verna Wilkins]], entitled ''Benjamin Zephaniah: A Profile'', published in the Black Stars Series of [[Tamarind Books]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1KHDOQAACAAJ|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: A Profile|first=Verna|last=Wilkins|publisher=Tamarind|location=London|isbn=9781870516389|date=1999}}</ref> |
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Zephaniah was awarded at least 16 honorary doctorates,<ref name="Earthackney">{{cite web |title=Benjamin Zephaniah |url=https://earthackney.co.uk/performers/benjamin-zephaniah/ |website=Evolutionary Arts Hackney |access-date=7 December 2023 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630171944/https://earthackney.co.uk/performers/benjamin-zephaniah/ |url-status=live }}</ref> by institutions including the [[University of North London]] (in 1998),<ref name="Gregory" /> the [[Birmingham City University|University of Central England]] (1999), [[Staffordshire University]] (2001),<ref>{{cite web|title=Recipients of Honorary Awards|url=http://www.staffs.ac.uk/about/honoraries/index.jsp|publisher=Staffordshire University|access-date=16 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222121807/http://staffs.ac.uk/about/honoraries/index.jsp|archive-date=22 February 2013}}</ref> [[London South Bank University]] (2003), the [[University of Exeter]], the [[Open University]] (2004),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary Degrees |url=https://www5.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/hon-degrees |website=Open University |access-date=7 December 2023 |archive-date=8 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608024657/https://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/hon-degrees |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[University of Westminster]] (2006), the [[University of Birmingham]] (2008)<ref>{{cite news |last=Collins |first=Tony |url=http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2008/07/11/university-honour-for-doug-eliis-97319-21326336/ |title=University honour for Doug Eliis |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722023249/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2008/07/11/university-honour-for-doug-eliis-97319-21326336/ |archive-date=22 July 2012 |work=Birmingham Mail |date=11 July 2008}}</ref> and the [[University of Hull]] (DLitt, 2010).<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary Graduates |url=https://www.hull.ac.uk/choose-hull/university-and-region/honorary-graduates |publisher=University of Hull |access-date=9 December 2023 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209234819/https://www.hull.ac.uk/choose-hull/university-and-region/honorary-graduates |url-status=live }}</ref> |
Zephaniah was awarded at least 16 honorary doctorates,<ref name="Earthackney">{{cite web |title=Benjamin Zephaniah |url=https://earthackney.co.uk/performers/benjamin-zephaniah/ |website=Evolutionary Arts Hackney |access-date=7 December 2023 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630171944/https://earthackney.co.uk/performers/benjamin-zephaniah/ |url-status=live }}</ref> by institutions including the [[University of North London]] (in 1998),<ref name="Gregory" /> the [[Birmingham City University|University of Central England]] (1999), [[Staffordshire University]] (2001),<ref>{{cite web|title=Recipients of Honorary Awards|url=http://www.staffs.ac.uk/about/honoraries/index.jsp|publisher=Staffordshire University|access-date=16 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222121807/http://staffs.ac.uk/about/honoraries/index.jsp|archive-date=22 February 2013}}</ref> [[London South Bank University]] (2003), the [[University of Exeter]], the [[Open University]] (2004),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary Degrees |url=https://www5.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/hon-degrees |website=Open University |access-date=7 December 2023 |archive-date=8 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608024657/https://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/hon-degrees |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[University of Westminster]] (2006), the [[University of Birmingham]] (2008)<ref>{{cite news |last=Collins |first=Tony |url=http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2008/07/11/university-honour-for-doug-eliis-97319-21326336/ |title=University honour for Doug Eliis |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722023249/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2008/07/11/university-honour-for-doug-eliis-97319-21326336/ |archive-date=22 July 2012 |work=Birmingham Mail |date=11 July 2008}}</ref> and the [[University of Hull]] (DLitt, 2010).<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary Graduates |url=https://www.hull.ac.uk/choose-hull/university-and-region/honorary-graduates |publisher=University of Hull |access-date=9 December 2023 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209234819/https://www.hull.ac.uk/choose-hull/university-and-region/honorary-graduates |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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In 2008, he was listed at 48 in ''[[The Times]]'' list of 50 greatest post-war writers.<ref name="times">{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127383.ece |title=Benjamin Zephaniah |
In 2008, he was listed at 48 in ''[[The Times]]'' list of 50 greatest post-war writers.<ref name="times">{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127383.ece |title=Benjamin Zephaniah |work=TimesOnline UK |date=5 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615153530/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127383.ece |archive-date=15 June 2011 }}</ref> A ward at [[Ealing Hospital]] was named in his honour.<ref name="Earthackney" /> |
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He was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/ |title=TalkAwhile UK Acoustic music forum |publisher=Talkawhile.co.uk |access-date=10 May 2011 |archive-date=26 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926005306/http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>) for "[[Tam Lin#Popular recordings|Tam Lyn Retold]]", recorded with [[The Imagined Village]] project on their eponymous 2007 album. He collected the award at [[The Cambridge Folk Festival]] on 2 August 2008, describing himself as a "Rasta Folkie".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=26229.0 |title=Best Original Song |publisher=Talkawhile.co.uk |date=3 August 2008 |access-date=10 May 2011 |archive-date=5 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005003842/http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=26229.0 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
He was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/ |title=TalkAwhile UK Acoustic music forum |publisher=Talkawhile.co.uk |access-date=10 May 2011 |archive-date=26 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926005306/http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>) for "[[Tam Lin#Popular recordings|Tam Lyn Retold]]", recorded with [[The Imagined Village]] project on their eponymous 2007 album. He collected the award at [[The Cambridge Folk Festival]] on 2 August 2008, describing himself as a "Rasta Folkie".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=26229.0 |title=Best Original Song |publisher=Talkawhile.co.uk |date=3 August 2008 |access-date=10 May 2011 |archive-date=5 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005003842/http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=26229.0 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Zephaniah lived for many years in [[ |
Zephaniah lived for many years in [[east London]]; however, in 2008, he began dividing his time between a village near [[Spalding, Lincolnshire]], and [[Beijing]] in China.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/18/benjamin-zephaniah-interview-poet|first=Lynn|last=Barber|author-link=Lynn Barber|title=The interview: Benjamin Zephaniah|newspaper=The Observer|date=18 January 2009|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=30 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330104801/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/18/benjamin-zephaniah-interview-poet|url-status=live}}</ref> He was a keen language learner and studied [[Mandarin Chinese]] for more than a decade.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imlearningmandarin.com/2021/11/12/benjamin-zephaniah-on-learning-mandarin-podcast/ |title=Benjamin Zephaniah on Learning Mandarin Chinese (Podcast) |publisher=ImLearningMandarin.com |date=12 November 2021 |access-date=5 March 2022 |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305120446/https://imlearningmandarin.com/2021/11/12/benjamin-zephaniah-on-learning-mandarin-podcast/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Zephaniah was married for 12 years to Amina, a theatre administrator. His infertility – which he discussed openly<ref name="Inews-1772217">{{cite news |last1=Zephaniah |first1=Benjamin |title=Benjamin Zephaniah: I'm 64 and my infertility still brings me to tears |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/benjamin-zephaniah-64-infertility-tears-1772217 |access-date=8 December 2023 |work=inews.co.uk |date=5 August 2022 |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812031319/https://inews.co.uk/opinion/benjamin-zephaniah-64-infertility-tears-1772217 |url-status=live }}</ref> – meant that they could not have children and his criminal record prevented them from adopting.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /> They divorced in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news |work=The Independent |title=Arts and Books |date=19 June 2009}}</ref> |
Zephaniah was married for 12 years to Amina, a theatre administrator. His infertility – which he discussed openly<ref name="Inews-1772217">{{cite news |last1=Zephaniah |first1=Benjamin |title=Benjamin Zephaniah: I'm 64 and my infertility still brings me to tears |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/benjamin-zephaniah-64-infertility-tears-1772217 |access-date=8 December 2023 |work=inews.co.uk |date=5 August 2022 |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812031319/https://inews.co.uk/opinion/benjamin-zephaniah-64-infertility-tears-1772217 |url-status=live }}</ref> – meant that they could not have children and his criminal record prevented them from adopting.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /> They divorced in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news |work=The Independent |title=Arts and Books |date=19 June 2009}}</ref> |
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Zephaniah's family were Christian but he became a [[Rastafari]]an at a young age.<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|title=Has Snoop Dogg seen the Rastafari light, or is this just a midlife crisis?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/snoop-dogg-rastafari|work=The Guardian|date=7 August 2012|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312144030/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/snoop-dogg-rastafari|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=4 February 2014|first=Mischa|last=Wilmers|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: 'It is my duty to help and inspire'|url=https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2014/02/04/benjamin-zephaniah-interview|access-date=29 April 2021|website=New Internationalist|language=en|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429185710/https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2014/02/04/benjamin-zephaniah-interview|url-status=live}}</ref> He gave up smoking [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] in his thirties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/06/benjamin-zephaniah-i-dont-want-to-grow-old-alone|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: 'I don't want to grow old alone'|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|first=Joanne|last=O'Connor|date=6 May 2018|access-date=6 May 2018|archive-date=6 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506084529/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/06/benjamin-zephaniah-i-dont-want-to-grow-old-alone|url-status=live}}</ref> |
Zephaniah's family were Christian but he became a [[Rastafari]]an at a young age.<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|title=Has Snoop Dogg seen the Rastafari light, or is this just a midlife crisis?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/snoop-dogg-rastafari|work=The Guardian|date=7 August 2012|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312144030/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/07/snoop-dogg-rastafari|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=4 February 2014|first=Mischa|last=Wilmers|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: 'It is my duty to help and inspire'|url=https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2014/02/04/benjamin-zephaniah-interview|access-date=29 April 2021|website=New Internationalist|language=en|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429185710/https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2014/02/04/benjamin-zephaniah-interview|url-status=live}}</ref> He gave up smoking [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] in his thirties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/06/benjamin-zephaniah-i-dont-want-to-grow-old-alone|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: 'I don't want to grow old alone'|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|first=Joanne|last=O'Connor|date=6 May 2018|access-date=6 May 2018|archive-date=6 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506084529/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/06/benjamin-zephaniah-i-dont-want-to-grow-old-alone|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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He was a supporter of [[Aston Villa F.C.]] – having been taken to matches as a boy, by an uncle<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-zephaniah-villa|title=Villa fans, violence and me|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|newspaper=The Observer|date=18 May 2009|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013921/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-zephaniah-villa|url-status=live}}</ref> – and was the patron for an Aston Villa supporters' website,<ref>{{cite web|title=A Poet Called Benjamin Zephaniah|url=http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/14.php?image_id=1011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807062344/http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/14.php?image_id=1011|archive-date=7 August 2011|access-date=10 May 2011|publisher=Benjaminzephaniah.com}}</ref> as well as an ambassador for the club's charity, the Aston Villa Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/07/Tribute-to-Benjamin-Zephaniah/|title=Tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah|author=Aston Villa FC|date=7 December 2023|website=avfc.co.uk|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013922/https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/07/Tribute-to-Benjamin-Zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2023/12/08/aston-villa-pay-homage-to-lifelong-fan-benjamin-zephaniah/|title=Aston Villa pay homage to lifelong fan Benjamin Zephaniah|newspaper=[[The Voice (British newspaper)|The Voice]]|date=8 December 2023|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208113543/https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2023/12/08/aston-villa-pay-homage-to-lifelong-fan-benjamin-zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
He was a supporter of [[Aston Villa F.C.]] – having been taken to matches as a boy, by an uncle<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-zephaniah-villa|title=Villa fans, violence and me|first=Benjamin|last=Zephaniah|newspaper=The Observer|date=18 May 2009|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013921/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-zephaniah-villa|url-status=live}}</ref> – and was the patron for an Aston Villa supporters' website,<ref>{{cite web|title=A Poet Called Benjamin Zephaniah|url=http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/14.php?image_id=1011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807062344/http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/14.php?image_id=1011|archive-date=7 August 2011|access-date=10 May 2011|publisher=Benjaminzephaniah.com}}</ref> as well as an ambassador for the club's charity, the Aston Villa Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/07/Tribute-to-Benjamin-Zephaniah/|title=Tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah|author=Aston Villa FC|date=7 December 2023|website=avfc.co.uk|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013922/https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/07/Tribute-to-Benjamin-Zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2023/12/08/aston-villa-pay-homage-to-lifelong-fan-benjamin-zephaniah/|title=Aston Villa pay homage to lifelong fan Benjamin Zephaniah|newspaper=[[The Voice (British newspaper)|The Voice]]|date=8 December 2023|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208113543/https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2023/12/08/aston-villa-pay-homage-to-lifelong-fan-benjamin-zephaniah/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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===Death and legacy=== |
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⚫ | Benjamin Zephaniah died on 7 December 2023, at the age of 65, after being diagnosed with a [[brain tumour]] eight weeks previously.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref name="bbc7dec">{{cite web |first=Steven |last=McIntosh |date=7 December 2023 |title=Benjamin Zephaniah: Writer and poet dies aged 65 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67646607 |website=[[BBC News]]|access-date=7 December 2023|archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207120516/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67646607 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=times7dec>{{cite web |first=Alex |last=Farber |date=7 December 2023|title=Benjamin Zephaniah, writer and poet, dies aged 65 |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/benjamin-zephaniah-dead-dies-age-brain-tumour-grkvz05z7 |website=[[The Times]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231207123327/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/benjamin-zephaniah-dead-dies-age-brain-tumour-grkvz05z7|archive-date=7 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dod">{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=7 December 2023 |title=British poet Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65 |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/british-poet-benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65 |access-date=7 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209235700/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/british-poet-benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65 |url-status=live }}</ref> His friend of nearly twenty years, [[Joan Armatrading]], gave a tribute to him on ''[[Newsnight]]'' on [[BBC Two]] after hearing the news of his death. Writing on [[Twitter]], she said: "I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend."<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Armatrading |first=Joan |author-link=Joan Armatrading |user=ArmatradingJoan |number=1732799022023217630 |date=7 December 2023 |title=I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend |access-date=8 December 2023 }}</ref> |
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⚫ | The BBC later re-broadcast Zephaniah's documentary ''A Picture of Birmingham'', in which he revisited his birthplace and his former [[approved school]].<ref name="auto"/> [[Fiona Bruce]], the presenter of BBC's ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'', on which Zephaniah was a regular panellist, paid tribute to him, saying: "He was an all round, just tremendous bloke" for whom she had "huge affection and respect".<ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Question Time |author-link=Question Time (TV programme) |user=bbcquestiontime |number=1732907559462322648 |date=7 December 2023 |title='He was an all round, just tremendous bloke' Fiona Bruce pays tribute to poet Benjamin Zephaniah, a regular panellist on Question Time, who she says she had 'huge affection and respect for' |access-date=8 December 2023 |link=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001t4t5 }}</ref> |
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⚫ | According to [[Martin Glynn (criminologist)|Martin Glynn]] of [[Birmingham City University]], Zephaniah was "never an establishment person", but "got into spaces" where he felt he could be heard. Glynn said: "He was the [[James Brown]] of dub poetry, the godfather... [[Linton Kwesi Johnson]] spoke to the political classes, but Benjamin was a humanist, he made poetry popular and loved music. He had his own studio.... He did what [[John Cooper Clarke]] did with poetry and that was bringing it into the mainstream."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-67650140|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: The James Brown of dub poetry|first=Vanessa|last=Pearce|author2=Giles Latcham|date=8 December 2023|via=www.bbc.co.uk|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=9 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209235700/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-67650140|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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The family issued a statement on 7 December regarding Benjamin Zephaniah's death, saying: "Thank you for the love you have shown Professor Benjamin Zephaniah."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sinclair |first=Luke |date=2023-12-07 |title=Renowned British poet and Peaky Blinders star, Benjamin Zephaniah, passes away at 65 |url=https://www.herald.wales/mid-wales/ceredigion-mid-wales/Entertainment/renowned-british-poet-and-peaky-blinders-star-benjamin-zephaniah-passes-away-at-65/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=Herald.Wales |language=en-GB}}</ref> The Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy website was launched in March 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.4wardeveruk.org/benjamin-zephaniah-family-legacy-website-launched|title=The Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy website has launched|website=4WardEverUK|date=5 March 2024|access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> |
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Aston Villa Football Club paid tribute to Zephaniah on Saturday, 9 December 2023, in advance of their home match against [[Arsenal F.C.]], by playing on the big screens his ode to Villa, originally recorded in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVOHu8qYSo|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: Ode to Aston Villa|date=22 July 2015|access-date=11 December 2023|publisher=BBC Sport|via=YouTube|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013921/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVOHu8qYSo|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/sport/aston-villa-benjamin-zephaniah-tribute-arsenal-b2461535.html|title=Aston Villa pay moving tribute to poet Benjamin Zephaniah ahead of Arsenal win|first=Oliver|last=Browning|newspaper=The Independent|date=10 December 2023|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=11 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211013921/https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/sport/aston-villa-benjamin-zephaniah-tribute-arsenal-b2461535.html|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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===Death=== |
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⚫ | Benjamin Zephaniah died on 7 December 2023, at the age of 65, after being diagnosed with a [[brain tumour]] eight weeks previously.<ref name="Telegraph-obit" /><ref name="bbc7dec">{{cite web |first=Steven |last=McIntosh |date=7 December 2023 |title=Benjamin Zephaniah: Writer and poet dies aged 65 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67646607 |website=[[BBC News]]|access-date=7 December 2023|archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207120516/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67646607 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=times7dec>{{cite web |first=Alex |last=Farber |date=7 December 2023|title=Benjamin Zephaniah, writer and poet, dies aged 65 |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/benjamin-zephaniah-dead-dies-age-brain-tumour-grkvz05z7 |website=[[The Times]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231207123327/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/benjamin-zephaniah-dead-dies-age-brain-tumour-grkvz05z7|archive-date=7 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dod">{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=7 December 2023 |title=British poet Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65 |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/british-poet-benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65 |access-date=7 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209235700/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/british-poet-benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65 |url-status=live }}</ref> His friend of nearly twenty years, [[Joan Armatrading]], gave a tribute to him on ''[[Newsnight]]'' on [[BBC Two]] after hearing the news of his death. Writing on [[Twitter]], she said: "I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend."<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Armatrading |first=Joan |author-link=Joan Armatrading |user=ArmatradingJoan |number=1732799022023217630 |date=7 December 2023 |title=I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend |access-date=8 December 2023 |
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His private funeral, attended by close friends and family, took place on 28 December, and it was requested that well-wishers plant flowers, trees or plants in Zephaniah’s honour, rather than sending cut flowers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/benjamin-zephaniah-funeral-where-b2470538.html|title=Benjamin Zephaniah fans asked to plant flowers in poet's memory as funeral takes place|newspaper=The Independent|first=Roisin|last=O'Connor|date=28 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/28/benjamin-zephaniah-laid-to-rest-in-private-funeral|title=Benjamin Zephaniah laid to rest in private funeral|first=Nadeem|last=Badshah|newspaper=The Guardian|date=28 December 2023}}</ref> |
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⚫ | The BBC later re-broadcast Zephaniah's documentary ''A Picture of Birmingham'', in which he revisited his birthplace and his former [[approved school]].<ref name="auto"/> [[Fiona Bruce]], the presenter of BBC's ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'', on which Zephaniah was a regular panellist, paid tribute to him, saying: "He was an all round, just tremendous bloke" for whom she had "huge affection and respect".<ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Question Time |author-link=Question Time (TV programme) |user=bbcquestiontime |number=1732907559462322648 |date=7 December 2023 |title='He was an all round, just tremendous bloke' Fiona Bruce pays tribute to poet Benjamin Zephaniah, a regular panellist on Question Time, who she says she had 'huge affection and respect for' |access-date=8 December 2023 |link=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001t4t5 |
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An artwork featuring Zephaniah that appeared on the wall of an underpass in [[Hockley, West Midlands|Hockley]], Birmingham, in March 2024 was accidentally painted over by a council sub-contractor employed to remove graffiti, although Zephaniah's family had been given assurances that the mural would be protected.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/05/apology-benjamin-zephaniah-mural-painted-over-birmingham|title=Apology after Benjamin Zephaniah mural painted over in Birmingham|first=Jessica|last=Murray|newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/zephaniah-family-frustration-over-mural-28939753|title=Zephaniah family frustration over mural that 'took hours to create and minutes to destroy' in error|website=Birmingham Live|first=Jane|last=Haynes|date=5 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> Following a public backlash,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/backlash-hockley-mural-beloved-benjamin-28923958|title=Backlash as Hockley mural of beloved Benjamin Zephaniah painted over|first=Jane|last=Haynes|website=Birmingham Live|date=2 April 2024|access-date=11 April 2024}}</ref> an apology was issued,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4njjvxw5jvo|title=Apology after Benjamin Zephaniah mural removed|first=Andrew|last=Dawkins|publisher=BBC News, West Midlands|date=4 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.localgov.co.uk/Council-contractor-apologises-after-painting-over-Zephaniah-mural-/59159|title=Council contractor apologises after painting over Zephaniah mural|first=William|last=Eichler|website=LocalGov|date=8 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> and new artwork was subsequently commissioned from black artists, to be unveiled on 14 April at [[Handsworth Park]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/07/birmingham-mural-honours-legacy-of-poet-giant-benjamin-zephaniah|title=Birmingham mural honours legacy of poet giant Benjamin Zephaniah|newspaper=The Observer|first=Vanessa|last=Thorpe|date=7 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/68759335|title=Benjamin Zephaniah mural: Tribute to be unveiled for Birmingham writer and poet|website=Newsround|publisher=CBBC|date=8 April 2024|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> |
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⚫ | According to [[Martin Glynn (criminologist)|Martin Glynn]] of [[Birmingham City University]], Zephaniah was "never an establishment person", but "got into spaces" where he felt he could be heard. Glynn said: "He was the [[James Brown]] of dub poetry, the godfather... [[Linton Kwesi Johnson]] spoke to the political classes, but Benjamin was a humanist, he made poetry popular and loved music. He had his own studio.... He did what [[John Cooper Clarke]] did with poetry and that was bringing it into the mainstream."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-67650140|title=Benjamin Zephaniah: The James Brown of dub poetry|date=8 December 2023|via=www.bbc.co.uk|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=9 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209235700/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-67650140|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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As a tribute, in April 2024, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the 2018 ''[[Book of the Week]]'' recording of Zephaniah reading his autobiography, ''The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah''.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2024 |title=The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b0prnw |access-date=9 April 2024 |website=[[BBC Radio 4]]}}</ref> |
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==Books== |
==Books== |
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* ''Too Black, Too Strong'' (2001), Bloodaxe Books, {{isbn|978-1852245542}} |
* ''Too Black, Too Strong'' (2001), Bloodaxe Books, {{isbn|978-1852245542}} |
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* ''The Little Book of Vegan Poems'' (2001), AK Press, {{isbn|978-1902593333}} |
* ''The Little Book of Vegan Poems'' (2001), AK Press, {{isbn|978-1902593333}} |
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* ''Reggae Head'' ( |
* ''Reggae Head'' (2006), spoken word audio CD, 57 Productions, {{isbn|978-1899021055}} |
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* ''To Do Wid Me'' (2013), Bloodaxe Books, feature film by Pamela Robertson-Pearce released on DVD with accompanying book, {{isbn|978-1852249434}} |
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===Novels=== |
===Novels=== |
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===Biographies=== |
===Biographies=== |
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* ''We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me'' (2022), Scholastic. {{ISBN|978-0702311161}} – a biography of [[Mona Baptiste]] written by Zephaniah and illustrated by [[Onyinye Iwu]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com |
* ''We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me'' (2022), Scholastic. {{ISBN|978-0702311161}} – a biography of [[Mona Baptiste]] written by Zephaniah and illustrated by [[Onyinye Iwu]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIa3zgEACAAJ|last=Zephaniah |first=Benjamin |date=7 April 2022 |title=We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me |others=Illustrated by Onyinye Iwu |publisher=[[Scholastic Corporation|Scholastic]] |isbn=978-0702311161}}</ref> |
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===Children's books=== |
===Children's books=== |
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* ''[[Didn't You Kill My Brother?]]'' (1987) – Rufus |
* ''[[Didn't You Kill My Brother?]]'' (1987) – Rufus |
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* ''Farendj'' (1989) – Moses |
* ''Farendj'' (1989) – Moses |
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* ''Dread Poets' Society'' (1992) – |
* ''Dread Poets' Society'' (1992) – himself |
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* ''Truth or Dairy'' (1994) – The Vegan Society (UK) |
* ''Truth or Dairy'' (1994) – The Vegan Society (UK) |
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* ''Crucial Tales'' (1996) – Richard's father |
* ''Crucial Tales'' (1996) – Richard's father |
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* [http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/20/british_jamaican_rastafarian_writer_dub_poet "British Jamaican Rastafarian Writer, Dub Poet Benjamin Zephaniah on Poetry, Politics and Revolution"], 20 September 2010 – video report by ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' |
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/20/british_jamaican_rastafarian_writer_dub_poet "British Jamaican Rastafarian Writer, Dub Poet Benjamin Zephaniah on Poetry, Politics and Revolution"], 20 September 2010 – video report by ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' |
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* [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/a-hero-to-millions-benjamin-zephaniah-remembered-michael-rosen-kae-tempest-and-more {{"'}}A hero to millions': Benjamin Zephaniah remembered by Michael Rosen, Kae Tempest and more"], ''The Guardian'', 7 December 2023. |
* [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/a-hero-to-millions-benjamin-zephaniah-remembered-michael-rosen-kae-tempest-and-more {{"'}}A hero to millions': Benjamin Zephaniah remembered by Michael Rosen, Kae Tempest and more"], ''The Guardian'', 7 December 2023. |
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* [[Deirdre Osborne]], [https://www.gold.ac.uk/news/remembering-benjamin-zephaniah/ "Remembering Benjamin Zephaniah"], [[Goldsmiths University of London]], 7 December 2023. |
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* {{NPG name|id= mp58392}} |
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[[Category:British activists for Palestinian solidarity]] |
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[[Category:People educated at Broadway Academy]] |
[[Category:People educated at Broadway Academy]] |
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[[Category:People from Handsworth, West Midlands]] |
[[Category:People from Handsworth, West Midlands]] |
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[[Category:Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands]] |
[[Category:Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands]] |
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[[Category:Writers with dyslexia]] |
[[Category:Writers with dyslexia]] |
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[[Category:British children's poets]] |
Latest revision as of 03:52, 8 December 2024
Benjamin Zephaniah | |
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Born | Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Springer 15 April 1958 Handsworth, Birmingham, England |
Died | 7 December 2023 | (aged 65)
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Years active | 1980–2023 |
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benjaminzephaniah |
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (né Springer; 15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008. In his work, Zephaniah drew on his lived experiences of incarceration, racism and his Jamaican heritage.
He won the BBC Radio 4 Young Playwrights Festival Award in 1998 and was the recipient of at least sixteen honorary doctorates. A ward at Ealing Hospital was also named in his honour. His second novel, Refugee Boy, was the recipient of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award in the Longer Novel category. In 1982, he released an album, Rasta, which featured the Wailers performing for the first time since the death of Bob Marley, acting as a tribute to Nelson Mandela. It topped the charts in Yugoslavia, and due to its success Mandela invited Zephaniah to host the president's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1996. As an actor, he had a major role in the BBC's Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022.
A vegan and animal rights activist, who self-identified as an anarchist, Zephaniah supported changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote.
In 2003, Zephaniah was offered appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) but publicly rejected the honour, stating that: "I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers, brutalised".
Early life and education
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Springer was born on 15 April 1958,[1][2][3] in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England, where he was also raised.[4][5] He referred to this area as the "Jamaican capital of Europe".[6] The son of parents who had migrated from the Caribbean – Oswald Springer, a Barbadian postman, and Leneve (née Honeyghan),[7] a Jamaican nurse who came to Britain in 1956 and worked for the National Health Service[8] – he had a total of seven younger siblings, including his twin sister, Velda.[2][3][9]
Zephaniah wrote that he was strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he called "street politics", and he said in a 2005 interview:
Well, for most of the early part of my life I thought poetry was an oral thing. We used to listen to tapes from Jamaica of Louise Bennett, who we think of as the queen of all dub poets. For me, it was two things: it was words wanting to say something and words creating rhythm. Written poetry was a very strange thing that white people did.[10]
His first performance was in church when he was 11 years old, resulting in him adopting the name Zephaniah (after the biblical prophet),[2] and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.[11]
He was educated at Broadway School, Birmingham, from which he was expelled aged 13, unable to read or write due to dyslexia.[9][3][2] He was sent to Boreatton Park approved school in Baschurch, Shropshire.[12]
The gift, during his childhood, of an old, manual typewriter inspired him to become a writer. It is now in the collection of Birmingham Museums Trust.[13]
As a youth, he spent time in borstal and in his late teens received a criminal record and served a prison sentence for burglary.[2][9][14][15] Tired of the limitations of being a black poet communicating with black people only, he decided to expand his audience, and in 1979, at the age of 22, he headed to London, where his first book would be published the next year.[16][17]
While living in London, Zephaniah was assaulted during the 1981 Brixton riots and chronicled his experiences on his 1982 album Rasta.[18] He experienced racism on a regular basis:[19]
They happened around me. Back then, racism was very in your face. There was the National Front against black and foreign people and the police were also very racist. I got stopped four times after I bought a BMW when I became successful with poetry. I kept getting stopped by the police so I sold it.
In a session with John Peel on 1 February 1983 – one of two Peel sessions he recorded that year – Zephaniah's responses were recorded in such poems as "Dis Policeman", "The Boat", "Riot in Progress" and "Uprising Downtown".[20][21]
Written work and poetry
Having moved to London, Zephaniah became actively involved in a workers' co-operative in Stratford, which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, Pen Rhythm (Page One Books, 1980). He had earlier been turned down by other publishers who did not believe there would be an audience for his work, and "they didn't understand it because it was supposed to be performed".[22] Three editions of Pen Rhythm were published. Zephaniah said that his mission was to fight the dead image of poetry in academia, and to "take [it] everywhere" to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances,[16] sometimes with The Benjamin Zephaniah Band.[16][23]
His second collection of poetry, The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985), contained a number of poems attacking the British legal system.[24] Rasta Time in Palestine (1990), an account of a visit to the Palestinian occupied territories, contained poetry and travelogue.[25]
Zephaniah was poet-in-residence at the chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, and sat in on the inquiry into Bloody Sunday and other cases,[26] these experiences led to his Too Black, Too Strong poetry collection (2001).[9] We Are Britain! (2002) is a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain.[24]
He published several collections of poems, as well as novels, specifically for young people.[27] Talking Turkeys (1994), his first poetry book for children, was reprinted after six weeks.[28][29] In 1999, he wrote his first novel Face – a story of "facial discrimination", as he described it[27] – which was intended for teenagers, and sold some 66,000 copies.[23][30][31][32] Poet Raymond Antrobus, who was given the novel when he had just started attending a deaf school, has written: "I remember reading the whole thing in one go. I was very self-conscious about wearing hearing aids and I needed stories that humanised disability, as Face did. I was still struggling with my literacy at the time, and I understood Benjamin as someone who was self-taught and had been marginalised within the education system. And so he really felt like an ambassador for young people like me."[33]
Zephaniah's second novel Refugee Boy, about a 14-year-old refugee from Ethiopia and Eritrea,[34] was published in August 2001. It was the recipient of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award in the Longer Novel category,[27][35] and went on to sell 88,000 copies.[23] In 2013, Refugee Boy was adapted as a play by Zephaniah's long-time friend Lemn Sissay, staged at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.[36][37][38]
In May 2011, Zephaniah accepted a year-long position as poet-in-residence at Keats House in Hampstead, London, his first residency role for more than ten years. In accepting the role, he commented: "I don't do residencies, but Keats is different. He's a one-off, and he has always been one of my favourite poets."[39][40] The same year, he was appointed professor of poetry and creative writing at Brunel University London.[2][41][42]
In 2016, Zephaniah wrote the foreword to Angry White People: Coming Face-to-Face with the British Far Right by Hsiao-Hung Pai.[43]
Zephaniah's frank autobiography, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, was published to coincide with his 60th birthday in 2018, when BBC Sounds broadcast him reading his own text. "I'm still as angry as I was in my twenties," he said.[44][45] The book was nominated as "autobiography of the year" at the National Book Awards.[4]
The Birmingham Mail dubbed him "The people's laureate".[46]
On the publication of his young adult novel Windrush Child in 2020, Zephaniah was outspoken about the importance of the way history is represented in the curriculum of schools.[47][48]
Acting and media appearances
Zephaniah made minor appearances in several television programmes in the 1980s and 1990s, including The Comic Strip Presents... (1988), EastEnders (1993), The Bill (1994), and Crucial Tales (1996).[49] In 1990, he appeared in the film Farendj, directed by Sabine Prenczina and starring Tim Roth.[50]
He was the "castaway" on the 8 June 1997 episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs, where his chosen book was the Poetical Works of Shelley.[51]
In 2005, BBC One broadcast a television documentary about his life, A Picture of Birmingham, by Benjamin Zephaniah, which was repeated by BBC Two on 7 December 2023.[52]
In December 2012, he was guest editor of an episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Today, for which he commissioned a "good news bulletin".[53][54]
Between 2013 and 2022, Zephaniah played the role of preacher Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus in BBC television drama Peaky Blinders, appearing in 14 episodes across the six series.[55]
In 2020, he appeared as a panellist on the BBC television comedy quiz show QI, on the episode "Roaming".[56]
Music
In 1982, Zephaniah released the album Rasta, which featured the Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley as well as a tribute to the political prisoner (later to become South African president) Nelson Mandela. The album gained Zephaniah international prestige[57] and topped the Yugoslavian pop charts.[11][57] It was because of this recording that he was introduced to Mandela, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London.[19][58]
Zephaniah released a total of seven albums of original music.[3][59]
Views
Zephaniah was connected with – and served as patron for – many organizations that aligned with his beliefs.[60][61]
Animal rights and veganism
Zephaniah became a vegetarian at the age of 11,[62] and then became a vegan at the age of 13,[63][64] when he read poems about "shimmering fish floating in an underwater paradise, and birds flying free in the clear blue sky".
He was an honorary patron of The Vegan Society,[65] Viva!,[66] and EVOLVE! Campaigns,[67] and was an animal rights advocate. In 2004, he wrote the foreword to Keith Mann's book From Dusk 'til Dawn: An insider's view of the growth of the Animal Liberation Movement, a book about the Animal Liberation Front. In August 2007, he announced that he would be launching the Animal Liberation Project, alongside People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.[68] In February 2001, his book The Little Book of Vegan Poems was published by AK Press.[69]
Anti-racism activism
Zephaniah spoke extensively about his personal experiences of anti-Black racism in Britain and incorporated his experiences in much of his written work.[70]
In 2012, Zephaniah worked with anti-racism organisation Newham Monitoring Project, with whom he made a video,[71][72] and Tower Hamlets Summer University (Futureversity) about the impact of Olympic policing on black communities.[73] In that same year, he also wrote about cases of racially abusive language employed by police officers and "the reality of police racism that many of us experience all the time".[74]
In November 2003, Zephaniah was offered appointment in the 2004 New Year Honours as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for which he said he had been recommended by Tony Blair. But he publicly rejected the honour[75][76] and in a subsequent article for The Guardian, elaborated on learning about being considered for the award and his reasons for rejecting it: "Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought. I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised... Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire."[77][78]
Other activism
Zephaniah spoke in favour of a British Republic and the dis-establishment of the Crown.[79] In 2015, he called for Welsh and Cornish to be taught in English schools, saying: "Hindi, Chinese and French are taught [in schools], so why not Welsh? And why not Cornish? They're part of our culture."[80]
Zephaniah supported Amnesty International in 2005, speaking out against homophobia in Jamaica, saying: "For many years Jamaica was associated with freedom fighters and liberators, so it hurts when I see that the home of my parents is now associated with the persecution of people because of their sexual orientation."[81]
In 2016, Zephaniah curated We Are All Human, an exhibition at the Southbank Centre presented by the Koestler Trust, which exhibited art works by prisoners, detainees and ex-offenders.[82]
Zephaniah was a supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and joined demonstrations calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, describing the activism as the "Anti Apartheid movement". He was also a supporter of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.[83][84]
Political views
Zephaniah self-identified as an anarchist;[85] observing in a 2022 interview: "...there are places that live without government and live peacefully and happily. A lack of power means people of course aren't fighting over it and the main objective of society is to look after each other."[86] He appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.[87] In a 2017 interview, commenting on the ongoing Brexit negotiations, Zephaniah stated: "For left-wing reasons, I think we should leave the EU but the way that we're leaving is completely wrong."[88]
In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated: "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."[89][90]
Achievements and recognition
In 1998, Zephaniah was a winner of the BBC Young Playwrights Festival Award with his first ever radio play Hurricane Dub.[1][27][91]
In 1999, he was the subject of an illustrated biographical children's book by Verna Wilkins, entitled Benjamin Zephaniah: A Profile, published in the Black Stars Series of Tamarind Books.[92]
Zephaniah was awarded at least 16 honorary doctorates,[93] by institutions including the University of North London (in 1998),[1] the University of Central England (1999), Staffordshire University (2001),[94] London South Bank University (2003), the University of Exeter, the Open University (2004),[95] the University of Westminster (2006), the University of Birmingham (2008)[96] and the University of Hull (DLitt, 2010).[97]
In 2008, he was listed at 48 in The Times list of 50 greatest post-war writers.[98] A ward at Ealing Hospital was named in his honour.[93]
He was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk[99]) for "Tam Lyn Retold", recorded with The Imagined Village project on their eponymous 2007 album. He collected the award at The Cambridge Folk Festival on 2 August 2008, describing himself as a "Rasta Folkie".[100]
To mark National Poetry Day in 2009, the BBC ran an online poll to find the nation's favourite poet, with Zephaniah taking third place in the public vote, behind T. S. Eliot and John Donne, and being the only living poet to be named in the top 10.[101][102]
Zephaniah's 2020 reality television series Life & Rhymes, on Sky Arts, celebrating spoken-word performances,[103][104] won a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA), the Lew Grade Award for Best Entertainment Programme, in 2021.[105][106][3][42]
Personal life
Zephaniah lived for many years in east London; however, in 2008, he began dividing his time between a village near Spalding, Lincolnshire, and Beijing in China.[107] He was a keen language learner and studied Mandarin Chinese for more than a decade.[108]
Zephaniah was married for 12 years to Amina, a theatre administrator. His infertility – which he discussed openly[109] – meant that they could not have children and his criminal record prevented them from adopting.[3] They divorced in 2001.[110]
In 2017, Zephaniah married Qian Zheng, whom he had met on a visit to China three years earlier, and who survives him.[2]
In May 2018, in an interview of BBC Radio 5 Live, Zephaniah admitted that he had been violent to a former partner, confessing to having hit her. He said:
The way I treated some of my girlfriends was terrible. At one point I was violent. I was never like one of these persons who have a girlfriend, who'd constantly beat them, but I could lose my temper sometimes... There was one girlfriend that I had, and I actually hit her a couple of times, and as I got older I really regretted it. It burned my conscience so badly. It really ate at me, you know. And I'm a meditator. It got in the way of my meditation.[111]
His cousin, Michael Powell, died in police custody, at Thornhill Road police station in Birmingham, in September 2003 and Zephaniah regularly raised the matter,[77][112] continuously campaigning with his brother Tippa Naphtali, who set up a national memorial fund in Powell's name to help families affected by deaths in similar circumstances.[113]
Zephaniah's family were Christian but he became a Rastafarian at a young age.[114][115] He gave up smoking cannabis in his thirties.[116]
He was a supporter of Aston Villa F.C. – having been taken to matches as a boy, by an uncle[3][117] – and was the patron for an Aston Villa supporters' website,[118] as well as an ambassador for the club's charity, the Aston Villa Foundation.[119][120]
Death and legacy
Benjamin Zephaniah died on 7 December 2023, at the age of 65, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks previously.[3][4][121][122] His friend of nearly twenty years, Joan Armatrading, gave a tribute to him on Newsnight on BBC Two after hearing the news of his death. Writing on Twitter, she said: "I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend."[123]
The BBC later re-broadcast Zephaniah's documentary A Picture of Birmingham, in which he revisited his birthplace and his former approved school.[52] Fiona Bruce, the presenter of BBC's Question Time, on which Zephaniah was a regular panellist, paid tribute to him, saying: "He was an all round, just tremendous bloke" for whom she had "huge affection and respect".[124]
According to Martin Glynn of Birmingham City University, Zephaniah was "never an establishment person", but "got into spaces" where he felt he could be heard. Glynn said: "He was the James Brown of dub poetry, the godfather... Linton Kwesi Johnson spoke to the political classes, but Benjamin was a humanist, he made poetry popular and loved music. He had his own studio.... He did what John Cooper Clarke did with poetry and that was bringing it into the mainstream."[125]
The family issued a statement on 7 December regarding Benjamin Zephaniah's death, saying: "Thank you for the love you have shown Professor Benjamin Zephaniah."[126] The Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy website was launched in March 2024.[127]
Aston Villa Football Club paid tribute to Zephaniah on Saturday, 9 December 2023, in advance of their home match against Arsenal F.C., by playing on the big screens his ode to Villa, originally recorded in 2015.[128][129]
His private funeral, attended by close friends and family, took place on 28 December, and it was requested that well-wishers plant flowers, trees or plants in Zephaniah’s honour, rather than sending cut flowers.[130][131]
An artwork featuring Zephaniah that appeared on the wall of an underpass in Hockley, Birmingham, in March 2024 was accidentally painted over by a council sub-contractor employed to remove graffiti, although Zephaniah's family had been given assurances that the mural would be protected.[132][133] Following a public backlash,[134] an apology was issued,[135][136] and new artwork was subsequently commissioned from black artists, to be unveiled on 14 April at Handsworth Park.[137][138]
As a tribute, in April 2024, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the 2018 Book of the Week recording of Zephaniah reading his autobiography, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah.[139]
Books
Poetry
- Pen Rhythm (1980), Page One, ISBN 978-0907373001
- The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985), Arena, ISBN 978-0099392507
- City Psalms (1992), Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 978-1852242305
- Inna Liverpool (1992), AK Press, ISBN 978-1873176757
- Talking Turkeys (1994), Puffin Books, ISBN 978-0140363302
- Propa Propaganda (1996), Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 978-1852243722
- Funky Chickens (1997), Puffin, ISBN 978-0140379457
- School's Out: Poems Not for School (1997), AK Press, ISBN 978-1873176498
- Funky Turkeys (audiobook) (1999), Puffin, ASIN B07VJJ8WCX[140]
- Wicked World! (2000), Puffin Random House, ISBN 978-0141306834
- Too Black, Too Strong (2001), Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 978-1852245542
- The Little Book of Vegan Poems (2001), AK Press, ISBN 978-1902593333
- Reggae Head (2006), spoken word audio CD, 57 Productions, ISBN 978-1899021055
- To Do Wid Me (2013), Bloodaxe Books, feature film by Pamela Robertson-Pearce released on DVD with accompanying book, ISBN 978-1852249434
Novels
- Face (1999), Bloomsbury (published in children's and adult editions)
- Refugee Boy (2001), Bloomsbury
- Gangsta Rap (2004), Bloomsbury
- Teacher's Dead (2007), Bloomsbury
- Terror Kid (2014), Bloomsbury[141]
- Windrush Child (2020), Scholastic, ISBN 978-0702302725
Biographies
- We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me (2022), Scholastic. ISBN 978-0702311161 – a biography of Mona Baptiste written by Zephaniah and illustrated by Onyinye Iwu.[142]
Children's books
- We Are Britain (2002), Frances Lincoln Publishers
- Primary Rhyming Dictionary (2004), Chambers Harrap
- J Is for Jamaica (2006), Frances Lincoln
- My Story (2011), Collins
- When I Grow Up (2011), Frances Lincoln
Other
- Kung Fu Trip (2011), Bloomsbury
- The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (2018), Simon & Schuster[44]
Plays
- Playing the Right Tune (1985)
- Job Rocking (1987). Published in Black Plays: 2, ed. Yvonne Brewster, Methuen Drama, 1989.
- Delirium (1987)
- Streetwise (1990)
- Mickey Tekka (1991)
- Listen to Your Parents (included in Theatre Centre: Plays for Young People – Celebrating 50 Years of Theatre Centre, 2003, Aurora Metro; also published by Longman, 2007)
- Face: The Play (with Richard Conlon)
Acting roles
- Didn't You Kill My Brother? (1987) – Rufus
- Farendj (1989) – Moses
- Dread Poets' Society (1992) – himself
- Truth or Dairy (1994) – The Vegan Society (UK)
- Crucial Tales (1996) – Richard's father
- Making the Connection (2010) – Environment Films / The Vegan Society (UK)
- Peaky Blinders (2013–2022) – Jeremiah Jesus
Discography
Albums
- Rasta (1982), Upright (reissued 1989), Workers Playtime (UK Indie #22)[143]
- Us An Dem (1990), Island
- Back to Roots (1995), Acid Jazz
- Belly of De Beast (1996), Ariwa
- Naked (2005), One Little Indian
- Naked & Mixed-Up (2006), One Little Indian (Benjamin Zephaniah Vs. Rodney-P)
- Revolutionary Minds (2017), Fane Productions
Singles and EPs
- Dub Ranting EP (1982), Radical Wallpaper
- "Big Boys Don't Make Girls Cry" 12-inch single (1984), Upright
- "Free South Africa" (1986)
- "Crisis" 12-inch single (1992), Workers Playtime
Guest appearances
- "Empire" (1995), Bomb the Bass with Zephaniah & Sinéad O'Connor
- Heading for the Door by Back to Base (2000), MPR Records
- Open Wide (2004), Dubioza kolektiv (C) & (P) Gramofon
- Rebel by Toddla T (2009), 1965 Records
- "Illegal" (2000), from "Himawari" by Swayzak
- "Theatricks" (2000), by Kinobe
See also
References
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- ^ a b c McIntosh, Steven (7 December 2023). "Benjamin Zephaniah: Writer and poet dies aged 65". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Benjamin Zephaniah". British Council. Archived from the original on 3 October 2007.
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- ^ "Coronavirus: Benjamin Zephaniah 'scared' after two family members die of COVID-19". Sky News. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d Kellaway, Kate (4 November 2001). "Dread poet's society". The Observer. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
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- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0242-9.
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- ^ a b Alghanem, Alanoud Abdulaziz (21 May 2023). "Remaking Britain: The Afro-Caribbean Impact on English Literature". Journal of Namibian Studies: History Politics Culture. 33: 2096–2118. doi:10.59670/jns.v33i.833. ISSN 2197-5523. S2CID 259408168.
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{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link) - ^ Berlins, Marcel (20 November 2000). "Poetic justice". The Guardian.
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- ^ "Life & Rhymes" on IMDb.
- ^ "How to watch BAFTA-winning Life & Rhymes". radiotimes.com. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
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Birmingham poet Benjamin Zephaniah, had said: "We have been asking questions for 10 years, protesting for 10 years, writing letters, and poems, and statements for 10 years, but most of all we have been collectively grieving for 10 years.
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- ^ Question Time [@bbcquestiontime] (7 December 2023). "'He was an all round, just tremendous bloke' Fiona Bruce pays tribute to poet Benjamin Zephaniah, a regular panellist on Question Time, who she says she had 'huge affection and respect for'" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 December 2023 – via Twitter.
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- ^ Badshah, Nadeem (28 December 2023). "Benjamin Zephaniah laid to rest in private funeral". The Guardian.
- ^ Murray, Jessica (5 April 2024). "Apology after Benjamin Zephaniah mural painted over in Birmingham". The Guardian.
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- ^ Haynes, Jane (2 April 2024). "Backlash as Hockley mural of beloved Benjamin Zephaniah painted over". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ Dawkins, Andrew (4 April 2024). "Apology after Benjamin Zephaniah mural removed". BBC News, West Midlands. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Eichler, William (8 April 2024). "Council contractor apologises after painting over Zephaniah mural". LocalGov. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (7 April 2024). "Birmingham mural honours legacy of poet giant Benjamin Zephaniah". The Observer.
- ^ "Benjamin Zephaniah mural: Tribute to be unveiled for Birmingham writer and poet". Newsround. CBBC. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah". BBC Radio 4. April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Funky Turkeys" Archived 10 December 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Penguin.
- ^ Zephaniah, Benjamin (2014). Terror Kid. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1471401770.
- ^ Zephaniah, Benjamin (7 April 2022). We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me. Illustrated by Onyinye Iwu. Scholastic. ISBN 978-0702311161.
- ^ Lazell, Barry (1997), Indie Hits 1980–1989, Cherry Red Books, ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
External links
- Official website
- Benjamin Zephaniah at IMDb
- Benjamin Zephaniah discography at Discogs
- "British Jamaican Rastafarian Writer, Dub Poet Benjamin Zephaniah on Poetry, Politics and Revolution", 20 September 2010 – video report by Democracy Now!
- "'A hero to millions': Benjamin Zephaniah remembered by Michael Rosen, Kae Tempest and more", The Guardian, 7 December 2023.
- Deirdre Osborne, "Remembering Benjamin Zephaniah", Goldsmiths University of London, 7 December 2023.
- Portraits of Benjamin Zephaniah at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- 1958 births
- 2023 deaths
- 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century English male writers
- 20th-century English poets
- 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century English male writers
- 21st-century English poets
- Academics of Brunel University London
- Acid Jazz Records artists
- Anti-monarchists
- Black British male actors
- Black British musicians
- Black British writers
- British people convicted of burglary
- British veganism activists
- Deaths from brain cancer in England
- Dub poets
- English anarchists
- English male dramatists and playwrights
- English male poets
- English people of Barbadian descent
- English people of Jamaican descent
- English Rastafarians
- English republicans
- English writers with disabilities
- Musicians with dyslexia
- British activists for Palestinian solidarity
- People educated at Broadway Academy
- People from Handsworth, West Midlands
- Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands
- Writers with dyslexia
- British children's poets