Dis Poetry

Praised by Joan Armatrading for ’his charm, his poetry, his revolutionary ways, his caring for people, his inclusiveness’, Benjamin Zephaniah (1958-2023) was a poet who wouldn’t stay silent, who didn’t pull any punches, who wrote out of a sense of urgency and a commitment to social justice.

Benjamin was a writer and performer of extraordinary range: an oral poet, novelist, playwright, children’s writer, reggae artist, actor, television personality and political activist. Born and raised in Birmingham, England, he was sent to an approved school for being uncontrollable, rebellious and ’a born failure’, ending up in jail for burglary and affray. After prison he turned from crime to music and poetry. He was later nominated for Oxford Professor of Poetry, and voted Britain’s third favourite poet of all time (after T.S. Eliot and John Donne) in a BBC poll.

Known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults as well as his poetry with attitude for children, he had his own rap/reggae band. He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley, in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela, which Mandela heard while in prison on Robben Island.

Dis Poetry brings together all the poems from Benjamin’s three Bloodaxe collections, City Psalms (1992), Propa Propaganda (1996) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001), as well as some from The Dread Affair (1985), along with previously unpublished work and lyrics from various recordings. The book includes a QR code giving access to Pamela Robertson-Pearce’s feature film To Do Wid Me originally released as a DVD-book in 2015 - enabling you to see and hear Benjamin performing in full over 20 of the poems in Dis Poetry on your phone while reading the book.

Benjamin Zephaniah (1958-2023) was a writer and performer of extraordinary range: an oral poet, novelist, playwright, children’s writer, reggae artist, actor, television personality and political activist. Born in Birmingham, England, he grew up in Handsworth, where he was sent to an approved school for being uncontrollable, rebellious and ’a born failure’, ending up in jail for burglary and affray. After prison he turned from crime to music and poetry. In 1989 he was nominated for Oxford Professor of Poetry, and received honorary doctorates from several English universities, but famously refused to accept a nomination for an OBE in 2003. He appeared in a number of television programmes, including the hit series Peaky Blinders. He was voted Britain’s third favourite poet of all time (after T.S. Eliot and John Donne) in a BBC poll in 2009.