 |
|
| Benjamin Zephaniah | |
British poet Benjamin Zephaniah, "whose work often addressed political injustice," died December 7, the Guardian reported. He was 65. Writers, poets, musicians and politicians posted tributes to Zephaniah on social media. Author Bernardine Evaristo called him a "trailblazing poet" and "force of nature." Author Kehinde Andrews said, "We lost a real one. Brum legend. Rise in Power Benjamin Zephaniah."
Zephaniah was born and raised in Birmingham, and began performing poetry in his early teenage years. He had dyslexia, and left school when he was 14. The Guardian noted that in 1979, he moved to London, and his first collection, Pen Rhythm, was published. He began performing at demonstrations, youth gatherings and outside police stations. "I was a big protester, not just against racism but also apartheid. We are a multicultural society but the institutions have to catch up with us," he said in 2019.
His second poetry collection, The Dread Affair (1985), featured a number of poems attacking the British legal system. In 1990, he published Rasta Time in Palestine, containing poetry and travelogue based on a visit to the Palestinian occupied territories. In 1999, he wrote What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us as part of the campaign to find the murderers of the 18-year-old south-east Londoner.
"His work, which appeared on the national curriculum, was heavily influenced by Jamaican music and poetry, and he was often classified as a dub poet," the Guardian wrote. He also released a number of albums, and was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley, in a tribute to Nelson Mandela.
In the 1990s, Zephaniah released several collections, including Talking Turkeys, Inna Liverpool and School's Out: Poems Not for School. He also wrote novels, including Refugee Boy and Face. Among his books for children are Windrush Child (2020) and We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu (2022). His autobiography, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, was published in 2018 to coincide with his 60th birthday. It was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award.
Rejecting an OBE in 2003, he wrote in the Guardian: "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 brutalized."
Zephaniah also played the role of Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus in the BBC TV series Peaky Blinders, appearing in 14 episodes. Upon hearing the news of his death, co-star Cillian Murphy said, "Benjamin was a truly gifted and beautiful human being--a generational poet, writer, musician and activist. A proud Brummie and a Peaky Blinder."
His agent, Jodie Hodges, told the Bookseller: "Benjamin was quite simply extraordinary and it has been my pleasure and honor to work with him for the last 17 years. We can be comforted that his work--his important, powerful words and actions--will live on, and for that we can count ourselves lucky. My deepest sympathies go out to his family and many friends at this time."
Neil Astley, editor at Bloodaxe Books, said: "I knew and loved working with Benjamin for over 30 years, publishing four books of his poetry at Bloodaxe, from City Psalms in 1992 to To Do Wid Me in 2013. He was a writer and performer of extraordinary range: an oral poet, novelist, playwright, children's writer, reggae artist, actor, television personality and political activist. But what shone through most in all his work was his humanity, decency and ability to connect with everyone, both onstage and offstage."
From Zephaniah's poem "We Refugees":
We can all be refugees
Sometimes it only takes a day,
Sometimes it only takes a handshake
Or a paper that is signed.
We all came from refugees
Nobody simply just appeared,
Nobody's here without a struggle,
And why should we live in fear
Of the weather or the troubles?
We all came here from somewhere.