One in a million

We are mourning the death at the age of only 65 of Benjamin Zephaniah, the man for whom perhaps the term Performance Poet was invented. He was a man of many parts, poet, writer, performer, campaigner, anarchist, professor, doctor 16 times over, and last but not least, supporter of the UK Metric Association.

Benjamin was born Benjamin Obadah Iqbal Springer in Birmingham to parents who hailed from Barbados and Jamaica, and was one of 8 children. He grew up surrounded by and absorbing oral poetry, but he was dyslexic and unable to read or write at the time he was expelled from school at the age of 13 – astonishing bearing in mind his future career. He took on the biblical name Zephaniah at the age of 11 and this stayed with him throughout his life. As a young man he had quite a lot of contact with the police, and became an outspoken and articulate opponent of police harassment and of racism in all its guises.

His exceptional talent as a poet was apparent even from the age of 15, when his work was well known in the Handsworth Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities. He moved to London to reach a wider audience at the age of 22, and the rest is history.

His first book of poetry, Pen Rhythm, was published in 1980, and this was to be followed by many other volumes both of poetry and prose, which won the admiration both of critics and of the public of whatever background. Throughout his life he saw his mission as bringing poetry to life and taking it out to the community, so he turned poetry readings into concert like performances, sometimes accompanied by his own band. But his poetry was not just performance, it had a message. Here is an example.

In 2011 he was appointed Professor of Poetry and Creative Writing at Brunel University. He made numerous media appearances, ranging from Desert Island Discs to EastEnders, The Bill and numerous episodes of Peaky Blinders. He was a frequent panellist on BBC Question Time (watch him with Farage here). He released seven albums of original music and went on stage with the post-Marley Wailers.

Among his many honours are his 16 honorary doctorates, the BBC Young Playwright’s Award, and the Portsmouth Book Award. He was nominated for an OBE by Tony Blair but turned this down because of his distaste for the concept of empire. He was named by the Times as one of the 50 greatest British writers of the postwar period.

Among the numerous causes he supported were Rasta, veganism, animal rights, anti-racism, humanism, a British Republic, Amnesty International, the Palestinian cause, proportional representation, the Labour party, and of course metrication.

He died on 7th December, only eight weeks after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. He is survived by his second wife, Qian Zheng, and also mourned by his many friends, fans and admirers.

Joan Armatrading said: “I am in shock. Benjamin Zephaniah has died age 65. What a thoughtful, kind and caring man he was. The world has lost a poet, an intellectual and a cultural revolutionary. I have lost a great friend. RIP Benjamin”.

We too at UKMA have lost a friend. He said:  ‘I’m in tune with the work of the UK Metric Association. Plodding along with two systems is holding us all back; I know a bit of both but have mastered none. The past has been good and bad, but I am obsessed with the future, and I believe that our political and educational institutions should lead the way. Going fully metric makes sense to me too, not only is it easier but it also symbolises that we the British people have a forward looking and progressive idea of ourselves. Looking backwards just for the sake of it will only hold us back.’

See also the Novara Media and Guardian obituaries.