In addition to his published writing, Benjamin Zephaniah has produced numerous music recordings, including Us and Dem and Belly of de Beast , and has also appeared as an actor in several television and film productions, including appearing as Moses in the film Farendg Many of the poems in Too Black, Too Strong were inspired by his tenure as Poet in Residence at the chambers of London barrister Michael Mansfield QC and by his attendance at both the inquiry into the 'Bloody Sunday' shootings and the inquiry into the death of Ricky Reel, an Asian student found dead in the Thames.
We Are Britain! Today he holds a handful of honorary degrees. In he appeared in The Times list of top 50 post-war writers. His poems are often inspired by political causes. What interests me is people. Martin is largely indifferent to the black culture that surrounds him on the streets of the city, but after getting caught up in a joyriding accident that causes terrible burns to his face, he starts to see the world differently. As Martin becomes sensitized to the prejudices of others, and finds himself othered, he starts to connect afresh with those around him, black and white.
The book was inspired by an incident when Zephaniah came face-to-face with Simon Weston, a veteran of the Falklands who was facially-disfigured during the war:.
I remember staring and feeling guilty afterwards - I know what it's like if I go to some villages around Britain where they don't see that many black people. I walk into a shop and people look at me, or I walk in the park and get three or four kids gawping. I thought I should know better. I wasn't being nasty to him, it was just seeing somebody who looked so different.
In his highly regarded second novel, Refugee Boy , Zephaniah tackles the theme of political asylum. Everything is magical in the capital until he wakes up one day and discovers his dad has deserted him. Gradually, through a series of letters, he learns they are not on vacation at all, but fleeing the political situation in Ethiopia.
In his next book, Gangsta Rap , we follow the downward trajectory of Ray, a disaffected teenager who falls out with his family, and is excluded from school before finding fame and fortune in a rap band. Zephaniah continues to travel widely for performances once performing on five continents in twenty days , and has maintained a sustained interest in global politics. As a frequent and willing collaborator, one of his most genre-bending productions, Naked , contains authorised prints of Banksy artworks in the poetic liner-notes accompanying a musical record.
And why not? A black survivor. Cite this: Freeman, Robert. Accessed 27 October Benjamin Zephaniah. Tweets by BZephaniah. The album was critically acclaimed and received substantial radio airplay worldwide.
Being a passionate vegan he writes a lot about animals but these animals are not all smiley, happy creatures, some may just be waiting for slaughter or losing their habitat, and of course some may be having fun. Then seemingly from nowhere, in he wrote a groundbreaking novel for teenagers. Zephaniah writes gritty, realistic novels about the lives of teenagers, these novels are directed to adults as much as they are to teenagers.
He believes that for the most part teenagers know what they are going through, but adults need reminding, they have short memories. Young writers have said that the accessibility of his work has inspired them to take up writing, many record sleeves bare witness to the fact that he has inspired many of the new generation of rappers, and of all the performance poets that emerged in the late seventies and early eighties he is one of the few that is still going strong.
He has sixteen honorary doctorates and the Eailing Hospital in west London has named a wing after him in recognition of his work. Zephaniah believes that working with human rights groups, animal rights groups and other political organisations means that he will never lack subject matter.
He now spends much of his time in China, but he continues working throughout Asia, South America and Africa, and is as passionate about politics and poetry now as he has ever been.
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