Benjamin Zephaniah, a British poet and political activist who drew large inspiration from his Caribbean roots, has died. He was 65.
Zephaniah died Thursday after being recognized with a mind tumour eight weeks in the past, his household stated in a press release on Instagram.
“We shared him with the world and we all know many might be shocked and saddened by this information,” the household stated.
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Zephaniah, who was born in Birmingham in central England on April 15, 1958, was a sharp-witted and infrequently provocative presence throughout British media in addition to acting at political gatherings and demonstrations.
Broadly recognisable from his lengthy dreadlocks and his native accent, Zephaniah was by no means shy in espousing his views on racism, refugees, revolutions — and wholesome consuming.
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The son of Barbadian postal employee and a Jamaican nurse, Zephaniah struggled in his early years on account of dyslexia and he was kicked out of college on the age of 13, unable to learn or write, earlier than studying to do as an grownup.
In his 20s, he travelled to London, the place his first e-book “Pen Rhythm” was revealed. He would subsequently write collections specializing in specific points, together with the UK authorized system and Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
His writing was usually categorized as dub poetry, which emerged in Jamaica within the Nineteen Seventies combining reggae beats with a hard-hitting political message.
He would additionally carry out with the group The Benjamin Zephaniah Band, and lately appeared on the favored BBC tv drama Peaky Blinders.
In 2003, Zephaniah rejected the supply to turn into an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, due to its affiliation with the British empire and its historical past of slavery.
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“I have been combating towards empire all my life, I have been combating towards slavery and colonialism all my life, I have been writing to attach with individuals to not impress governments and monarchy so how may I then go and settle for an honor that places the phrase empire onto my title,” he stated.
“That might be hypocritical.”
Zephaniah was a prolific youngsters’s poet, and was a founding member of The Black Writers’ Guild, which stated it’s in “mourning on the lack of a deeply valued good friend and a titan of British literature.”
In 2018, he was nominated for autobiography of the 12 months at Britain’s Nationwide Guide Awards for his work, The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah.
Talking that 12 months, Zephaniah stated he believed in radical modifications to society with individuals policing themselves.
“I am an anarchist, I imagine this must be torn down, I imagine we have to begin once more, I do not imagine that we want governments and the form of fashions that we have now,” he stated.
“However I am additionally conscious that we’re not going to realize that now.”
Throughout his music profession, Zephaniah labored with the late Irish singer Sinead O’Connor on Empire, and with British musician Howard Jones and drummer Trevor Morais on his album Bare.
Zephaniah was additionally a passionate supporter and ambassador of Premier League soccer workforce Aston Villa, Birmingham’s most profitable membership.
