Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah | |
|---|---|
 Zephaniah in 2018 | |
| Born | Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah 15 April 1958 Handsworth,Birmingham, England |
| Died | 6 December 2023(aged 65) |
| Occupation |
|
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Poetry, teen fiction |
| Literary movement | |
| Years active | 1980–2023 |
| Spouse |
Amina
(m.1990;div.2001) |
| Website | |
| benjaminzephaniah | |
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah(15 April 1958 – 6 December 2023)[1]was aBritish Jamaicanwriter,dub poetandRastafarian.He was included inThe Timeslist of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.
Zephaniah was a young black boy who had dyslexia and encountered Racism at his new school in Birmingham. He grew up in Handsworth up until the age of 9 when his mother who was also a Jamaican nurse who fled from his father who was a postman back in Barbados. Leaving his twin sister Velda and other siblings Zephaniah felt isolated as being a young black boy with a disability
Zephaniah faced prejudice frequently while residing in London and was involved in the racial riots of the 1980s: "They happened all around me. Racism was really evident back then. The National Front opposed foreigners and people of color, and the police were also very racist.
Zephaniah died on 6 December 2023 because of a brain tumor at the age of 65.[2]
References
[change|change source]- ↑Gregory, Andy (2002),International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002,Europa, p. 562.ISBN1-85743-161-8.
- ↑Creamer, Ella (7 December 2023)."British poet Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65".The Guardian.Retrieved7 December2023.
Other websites
[change|change source]
- Official website
- Benjamin ZephaniahonIMDb
- Benjamin Zephaniahdiscography atDiscogs
- Merope Mills,"Rasta poet publicly rejects his OBE",The Guardian,27 November 2003.
- Benjamin Zephaniah– from The Black Presence in Britain
- Benjamin Zephaniah on Poetry, Politics and Revolution– video report byDemocracy Now!