Rest in Power Benjamin Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023)

 

Heartbreaking  news."An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all."   Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal  Zephaniah the beloved. trailblazing dub poet, vegan anarchist. cultural revolutionary, public intellectual and inspiration to so many. has died age 65 today after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.  💔. 

A statement shared on his social media profiles reads: “It is with great sadness and regret that we announce the death of our beloved Husband. Son, and Brother in the early hours of this morning (7 December). Benjamin was diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.”

The post continued: “Benjamin’s wife was by his side throughout and was with him when he passed. We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this new. Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator, he gave the world so much.” 

 “Through an amazing career, including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television, radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy,” the statement concluded. 

My heart is truly  heavy  with his  loss. I  was fortunate  to  meet  him on  three occasions.  a  man  of  gentleness  and  deep integrity. If there were more people with the integrity of Benjamin Zephaniah, the world would be a much better place.His poetry influenced me enormously, especially his pro-Palestinian, anti-monarchy, radical stance..

Benjamin Zephaniah  one of the UK’s most renowned poets, novelists, playwrights and activists  was born was born in Handsworth, Birmingham on 15 April 1958. The son of Barbadian and Jamaican parents, his dyslexia meant he left school at  the  age  of  14 unable to read or write. This never held him back from his love of poetry and by his mid-teens, he was already well known for his poetry within the local community.

Zephaniah moved to London in his 20s, where he published his first poetry collection ‘Pen Rhythm’ in 1980. Over his life, he went on to publish 14 poetry collections, among  them The Dread Affair: Collected Poems, Rasta Time in Palestine, Too Black, Too Strong and We Are Britain! alongside five novels, a non-fiction biography of Mona Baptiste, five children’s books, seven plays,and in 2018, he released his autobiography The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah. His poetry was hugely influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he previously called "street politics".

Alongside his writing work, Zephaniah has recorded extensive music, including seven studio albums. He also acted, most notably as recurring character Jeremiah Jesus in the BBC series ‘Peaky Blinders’. 

Zephaniah broke boundaries with his work,and throughout his life, Zephaniah used his poetic voice for the good of society. He has campaigned extensively for antiracism, animal rights, against homophobia  colonialism.and injustice. And as s a writer, activist he always stood steadfast with the Palestinian people.who had previously expressed his wish to see Palestine’s liberation in his lifetime.Solidarity  was at  the core of  all of  his  work. 

Within Benjamin Zephaniah’s commitment and conviction to social justice came  his refusal of the OBE three years ago.due to its reverence of the British Empire and its cruel history of slavery and racism.  explaining: “Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire.”  

Outside of writing, Zephaniah released seven albums, with his final LP, Revolutionary Minds, arriving in 2017.essential listening for the times we live in, a solid piece of creativity that drives on home messages of hope, liberation, economic and political corruption rampant racism, fascist patriarchy in this world of struggle and desperation. 

His poetry, books and plays have captivated hearts and minds, fuelling imaginations and winning him a legion of fans all over the world.His poems packed a powerful punch for social justice, but always so gently and humorously delivered, they never preached.

Nelson Mandela also requested that he host his Two Nations Concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1996. Notably, he collaborated with The Wailers in 1982 on the album Rasta, which marked the group’s first release since the death of Bob Marley.

His voice was one of reason and hope when Britain looked to sink below the abyss, as it is now. A unique  and inspired voice for peace, a real  genuine radical  who  will  truly be  missed. An icon whose impact and  legacy will  resonate forever.What a fabulous role model he was in so many ways and all round bloody brilliant person who  freed so  many  with  the power of his  pen. Zeph was a hero on  many levels, loved so dearly by so many of us. Brilliant, blazing, beautiful with  such a glorious mind.  How brutally unfair. He should have had years more. We'll miss you bother. 

"If you didn't have troublemakers, most women wouldn't have the right to vote, a black person wouldn't be talking to a white person & I'd be back in slavery. We need troublemakers to challenge the establishment. I want to be one of those people" 

Rest in Power Benjamin Zephaniah

 

The British Poem  - Benjamin Zephaniah

 

Take some Picts, Celts and Silures

And let them settle,
Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.

Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years
Add lots of Norman French to some
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.

Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,
Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,
Vietnamese and Sudanese.

Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians
And Pakistanis,
Combine with some Guyanese
And turn up the heat.

Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,
Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some
Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese
And Palestinians
Then add to the melting pot.

Leave the ingredients to simmer.

As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish
Binding them together with English.

Allow time to be cool.

Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,
Serve with justice
And enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.

Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all.

We Refugees - Benjamin  Zephaniah

I come from a musical place
Where they shoot me for my song
And my brother has been tortured
By my brother in my land.

I come from a beautiful place
Where they hate my shade of skin
They don't like the way I pray
And they ban free poetry.

I come from a beautiful place
Where girls cannot go to school
There you are told what to believe
And even young boys must grow beards.

I come from a great old forest
I think it is now a field
And the people I once knew
Are not there now.

We can all be refugees
Nobody is safe,
All it takes is a mad leader
Or no rain to bring forth food,
We can all be refugees
We can all be told to go,
We can be hated by someone
For being someone.

I come from a beautiful place
Where the valley floods each year
And each year the hurricane tells us
That we must keep moving on.

I come from an ancient place
All my family were born there
And I would like to go there
But I really want to live.

I come from a sunny, sandy place
Where tourists go to darken skin
And dealers like to sell guns there
I just can't tell you what's the price.

I am told I have no country now
I am told I am a lie
I am told that modern history books
May forget my name.

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 from somewhere

Revolutionary Minds -  Benjamin Zephaniah

Palestine - Benjamin Zephaniah