33 Facts About Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah was born on 15 April 1958 and is a British writer and dub poet.

Benjamin Zephaniah was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.

Benjamin Zephaniah is the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse.

Benjamin Zephaniah writes that his poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls "street politics".

Benjamin Zephaniah became actively involved in a workers' co-operative in Stratford, London, which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, Pen Rhythm.

Benjamin Zephaniah has said that his mission is to fight the dead image of poetry in academia, and to "take [it] everywhere" to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances.

Benjamin Zephaniah was poet in residence at the chambers of Michael Mansfield QC, and sat in on the inquiry into Bloody Sunday and other cases, these experiences leading to his Too Black, Too Strong poetry collection.

In May 2011, Benjamin Zephaniah accepted a year-long position as poet-in-residence at Keats House in Hampstead, London, his first residency role for more than ten years.

In 2016, Benjamin Zephaniah wrote the foreword to Angry White People: Coming face-to-face with the British far right by Hsiao-Hung Pai.

Benjamin Zephaniah has made minor appearances in several TV programmes in the 1980s and 1990s, including The Bill, The Comic Strip Presents.

Between 2013 and 2022, Benjamin Zephaniah played the role of preacher Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus in BBC drama Peaky Blinders, appearing in 14 episodes across the 6 series.

In 1982, Benjamin Zephaniah released the album Rasta, which featured the Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley as well as a tribute to the political prisoner Nelson Mandela.

Benjamin Zephaniah became a vegetarian at age 11, and then became a vegan at the age of 13 when he read poems about "shimmering fish floating in an underwater paradise, and birds flying free in the clear blue sky".

In February 2001, Benjamin Zephaniah published The Little Book of Vegan Poems.

Benjamin Zephaniah has spoken extensively about his personal experiences of anti-Black racism in Britain and has incorporated his experiences in much of his written work.

In 2012, Benjamin Zephaniah has worked with anti-racism organisation Newham Monitoring Project, with whom he made a video, and Tower Hamlets Summer University about the impact of Olympic policing on black communities.

In 2003, Benjamin Zephaniah was offered appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, but publicly rejected the honour.

Benjamin Zephaniah has spoken in favour of a British Republic and the dis-establishment of the crown.

In 2016, Benjamin Zephaniah curated We Are All Human, an exhibition at the Southbank Centre presented by the Koestler Trust which exhibited art works by prisoners, detainees and ex-offenders.

Benjamin Zephaniah is a supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and has joined demonstrations calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, describing the activism as the "Anti Apartheid movement".

Benjamin Zephaniah is a supporter of the BDS movement.

Benjamin Zephaniah appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.

In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Benjamin Zephaniah signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election.

Benjamin Zephaniah has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of North London, the University of Central England, Staffordshire University, London South Bank University, the University of Exeter and the University of Westminster.

On 17 July 2008, Benjamin Zephaniah received an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham.

Benjamin Zephaniah was listed at 48 in The Times list of 50 greatest postwar writers.

Benjamin Zephaniah collected the Award live at The Cambridge Folk Festival on 2 August 2008 and described himself as a "Rasta Folkie".

Benjamin Zephaniah lived for many years in East London but in 2008 began dividing his time between a village near Spalding, Lincolnshire and Beijing in China.

Benjamin Zephaniah is a keen language learner and has studied Mandarin Chinese for over a decade.

Benjamin Zephaniah was married for twelve years to Amina, a theatre administrator, whom he divorced in 2001.

In May 2018, in an interview of BBC Radio Five Live, Benjamin Zephaniah admitted that he had been violent to a former partner, confessing to having hit her.

Benjamin Zephaniah's family were Christian but he became a Rastafari at a young age.

Benjamin Zephaniah is a supporter of Aston Villa FC and is the patron for an Aston Villa supporters' website.