Benjamin Zephaniah is a British Jamaican poet known for his dub poetry and anti-empire stance. Having grown up in Birmingham to an underprivileged neighbourhood of predominantly fellow Jamaicans, Zephaniah struggled a lot, academically, throughout his childhood.
After being diagnoses dyslexia and leaving school without knowing how to read or write, Zephaniah strived to become a poet. Zephaniah hoped to revolutionise traditional poetry by introducing dub poetry and styling his performances like concerts.
Major themes in his poetry relate to the British Empire and his favor of dis-establishing the British Crown. He considers himself an anarchist and condemns the acts of slavery and crimes against humanity towards his people and other minorities, going on to publish anthologies relating to his experiences and perspective. He has also touched upon homophobia in the Jamaican community as well as the importance of a vegan lifestyle.
His anthologies include, Pen Rhythm (1980), The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985), Rasta Time in Palestine (1990), Too Black, Too Strong (2001) and We Are Britain! (2002).
Zephaniah’s 1982 album Rasta propelled him to global phenomenon and caught the attention of the late President Nelson Mandela. He was also the recipient of the BBC Young Playwright's Award and has been awarded honorary doctorates at the University of North London (in 1998), the University of Central England (in 1999), Staffordshire University (in 2001), London South Bank University (in 2003), the University of Exeter and the University of Westminster (in 2006) and the University of Birmingham (in 2008).
