Sunday, April 10, 2005
BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH -MORE INSPIRATION...
 Benjamin Zephaniah is frequently heard & seen on TV & radio, & in early 1999 was being seriously tipped as the next Poet Laureate.Benjamin was born in 1958 in Black River, Jamaica, he grew up in Handsworth with the other nine children in his family but by the age of fourteen was sent to borstal. Shortly after leaving he was sentenced for two years for a crime he never committed. His first self-published pamphlet of poems appeared, called Pen Rhythm & through the dancehall & sound system scene he became involved in performance poetry. Articles then began to appear about him in the New Musical Express & Black Beat International, & a TV programme followed. In 1982, after extensive gigging in the UK & on the continent, he released the album RASTA. In 1983 & 1985 London City Limits magazine declared him 'Poet of the Year' & in 1988 he was shortlisted for Oxford Professor of Poetry, awarded to the future Nobel prize-winner Seamus Heaney. In the last few years he has acted in BBC TV & radio plays, performed much poetry at gigs & festivals & charity events. BZ appears increasingly on radio & television as performer & cultural commentator. He still performs all his work from memory. |
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