Benjamin Zephaniah a man a rastafarian a rapper a poet

A Man Called “Benjamin” (born in Jamaica in 1958 and emigrated to Birmingham ) He’s a creative person His main ambition is to turn people to poetry  performative poetry Energy and creativity find expression also in playwriting Gifted with large-hearted humanity Divided between two cultures He’s part of a commission which promotes creativity in English schools He has taken his poetry to every continent and still today he tours for the British Council - who pursue an enlightened policy of projecting a multi-cultural image of Britain abroad What are your ambitions? Whenever someone comes up to me and they say "You turned me on to poetry" that is my ambition being fulfilled. What would you want written on your tombstone? and my answer would be "He tried to love everyone." It's as simple as that! Even my enemies - I tried to understand them.

Who’s Who I used to think nurses Were women, I used to think police Were men, I used to think poets Were boring, Until I became one of them In this poem, Benjamin makes clear his will to change the dead, “white and boring image of poetry”

A Poet Called Benjamin He always played with words His poetry is commited but is loved by children He’s irriverent for the academic trappings of traditional written poetry  pop poetry Critics don’t appreciate his works A POET CALLED BENJAMIN How he became poet I was born a poet. I really can't remember a time when I wasn't 'poeting' as I call it. As a very young child I used to do word games in my head, and my parents used to worry because I didn't take an interest in Action man and toy cars and fire engines - I'd be happy to just sit in a corner and play with words! Political poems and children A lot of kids say to me that what they like about my poetry is that it's fun, but it does talk about racism, bullying and other issues - it doesn't just paint a rosy picture. I've travelled a lot and seen a lot of terrible things Critics and publication Sometimes they would read it but those that did read it didn't always understand it. They didn't hear the language behind it, they didn't see the rhythm in it and they didn't understand it. They didn't understand that it was performance poetry, so I got a lot of refusals and rejections, but on the other hand I was performing, and the audiences were loving it - it was like two different worlds. I do think sometimes that critics are saying one thing and the people are saying another. I go for the public sometimes - I think they override the critics and the critics have to eat their words Benjamin kissing R. McGough

How to Write a Poem Don’t decide to write poems Write about subjects close to your heart Be honest Use normal speech patterns Speak as you were in a street Don't force the rhymes Try your poem to your friends Perform you poetry Can you give us some tips on how to write poems? Write about subjects close to your heart. be honest. Try to use normal speech patterns. If you are rhyming, don't force the rhymes and if you are writing something funny, make sure ir makes you lauch and then try it on friends. Why is it important to perform your poetry? Because such a small percentage of people read books. Performing it brings it to a lot more people. People who are poor can't afford books - they want to buy books, but they don't want to risk it if they don't quite know what they're getting. I mean a lot of people sit in front of the television all day, so it seemed logical to me to do on television! I think that to a certain extent poetry has been made into something that you can only do if you're really clever - whereas a long time ago it was part of everybody's life and I see myself on a mission to take it back to the people. Do you enjoy writing poems? Do you think your readers like reading them? I love poems like I love life. I thinhk if my readers didn't like reading them, they wouldn't be my readers. If you are not pleased with a poem what do you do? Stop reading it, stop writing it, or if I see it on the streets, I walk on the other side of the road. How long does it take to write a poem? Impossible to say. I once wrote a very long poem in fifteen minutes, then I also wrote a short poem in three weeks. Did anyone try teaching you to write poems or were you mostly self-taught? I was completely self-taught.

Everybody is Doing It IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE In Hawaii they Hula They Tango in Argentina They Reggae in Jamaica And they Rumba down in Cuba, In Trinidad and Tobago They do the Calypso And in Spain the Spanish They really do Flamenco

Neighbours (excerpt) POLITICAL COMMITMENT I am the type you are supposed to fear Black and foreign Big and dreadlocks An uneducated grass eater. I talk in tongues I chant at night I appear anywhere, I sleep with lions And when the moon gets me I am a Wailer Benjamin and N. Mandela

The Race Industry (excerpt) POLITICAL COMMITMENT The coconuts have got the jobs. The race industry is a growth industry. We despairing, they careering. We want more peace they want more police. The Uncle Toms are getting paid. The race industry is a growth industry. Critical attitude toward racism (Independence) Rhythm  sing song effect

We Refugees POLITICAL COMMITMENT 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 Importance of rhythm in poetry He sings the sufferings of people

Eat Your Words I am a veggie table A table made of veg, FUNNY POEM I am a veggie table A table made of veg, There’s so much fruit upon me All living on the edge, Life is hard But so are plates And tea can be quite hot, And vegetarian poets Make me nervous quite a lot