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Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Birmingham and moved to London when he was 22. He has written acclaimed poetry collections for adults and for children. He has his own band and has made rap and dub ranting art forms by combining poetry with music. He spends much time visiting schools, youth clubs and prisons. Benjamin Zephaniah made headline news when he was short-listed for the Chair of Poetry at Oxford University. He lives in London.
About the author
Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Birmingham and then spent some of his early years in Jamaica. He came to London when he was 22 and his first book of poetry for adults was published soon after. He appears regularly on radio and TV including a Desert Island Discs appearance, literary festivals, and has also taken part in plays and films. He is most well-known for his performance poetry with a political edge for both children and adults and gritty teenage fiction. His collections Talking Turkey, Wicked World and Funky Chickens broke new ground in children's poetry. He is the only Rastafarian poet to be short-listed for the Chairs of Poetry for both Oxford and Cambridge University and has been listed in The Times' list of 50 greatest postwar writers. Benjamin died on December 7 2023 at the age of 65.
Summary
Enter the crazy world of rap poet Benjamin Zephaniah!A reissue of the wonderfully irreverent collection of poetry for young people, touching on anything from vegetables to the Queen and from sewage to the sun. There's plenty of humour as well as poems on racism, pollution and the murder of a cat.
