Creative Outlooks - Benjamin Zephaniah - The People's Poet

Creative Outlooks - Benjamin Zephaniah - The People's Poet

Dec, 21 2024


There was no-one quite like Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah. Born on 15th April 1958 in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England where he was raised. He once referred to Birmingham as the ‘Jamaican Capital of Europe’.

It was clear from an early age he had an ability to write and perform poetry. His first performance was in church when he was 11 years old, resulting in him adopting the name Zephaniah (after the biblical prophet), and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.

But it wasn’t an easy road from Ben as he was expelled from school aged 13 due to his dyslexia. But this didn't deter him. He was given a typewriter as a child which inspired him to write his compelling poetry.

It was during the 1980’s that he began to get his work published.One poem highlighted the struggle he felt as a young black man –

In, ‘We Refugees’ Zephaniah discusses the ease at which someone can be forced to leave their country, and the fact that we ‘all came from refugees’. He talks of the discrimination that refugees face, pointing out how unfair society can be. He reflects on the process of becoming a refugee, stating that it can happen to anyone, it is merely a fact of luck.

You can read his poem at the following website link –

https://www.best-poems.net/poem/we-refugees-by-benjamin-zephaniah.html

In 2005 he spoke honestly about the process of writing poetry –

“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.”

That same year he released a collection of spoken word mixed with music album entitled, ‘Naked’. Taken from that collection came the song ‘Responsible’. A song which showed his maturity as a poet and even branching out into music releases. Take a look at the music video here –

His second novel ‘Refugee Boy’ about a 14 year old refugee from Ethiopia and Eritrea was published in 2001. It was the recipient of the 2002 Portsmouth Book Award in the Longer Novel category, and went on to sell 88,000 copies. In 2013, Refugee Boy was adapted as a play by Zephaniah's long-time friend Lemn Sissay, staged at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

In May 2011 he was appointed professor of poetry and creative writing at Brunel University London. A defining point in his career, revealing a more responsible side to his personality, proving he had progressed so far from his youthful delinquency.

Sadly, it appears the good die young and on 7th December 2023 at the age of 65 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks previously the world lost a beautiful soul.

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."

BBC Radio 4 gave a fitting tribute to a wonderful man by replaying the 2018 broadcast ‘Book of the Week’ in which Benjamin read his autobiography ‘The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah’. One of the most intelligent, articulate men of his generation.

^Alex Ashworth CCG Art Blogger