Benjamin Zephaniah (Y6)

Benjamin Zephaniah cannot remember a time when he was not creating poetry. His poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls ‘street politics’. By the time he was 15 he had developed a strong following in Birmingham where he had gained a reputation as a young poet who was capable of speaking on local and international issues. In the early 1980s, Zephaniah’s poetry could be heard on demonstrations, at youth gatherings, outside police stations, and on the dance floor. It was once said of him that he was Britain’s most filmed, photographed, and identifiable poet. The mission was to take poetry everywhere: he was out to popularise poetry by reaching people who did not read books, and those that were keen on books could now witness a book coming to life on the stage. This poetry was political, musical, radical, relevant and on…