You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65
Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65.
An announcement made by his family on the poet’s Facebook page stated that he died in the early hours of 7th December 2023, eight weeks after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
The statement said: “Benjamin’s wife was by his side throughout and was with him when he passed. We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news. Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator, he gave the world so much. Through an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy. Thank you for the love you have shown Professor Benjamin Zephaniah."
His agent Jodie Hodges told The Bookseller: "Benjamin was quite simply extraordinary and it has been my pleasure and honour to work with him for the last 17 years. We can be comforted that his work - his important, powerful words and actions - will live on, and for that we can count ourselves lucky. My deepest sympathies go out to his family and many friends at this time."
Neil Astley, editor at Bloodaxe Books, said: "I knew and loved working with Benjamin for over 30 years, publishing four books of his poetry at Bloodaxe, from City Psalms in 1992 to To Do Wid Me in 2013. He was a writer and performer of extraordinary range: an oral poet, novelist, playwright, children’s writer, reggae artist, actor, television personality and political activist. But what shone through most in all his work was his humanity, decency and ability to connect with everyone, both onstage and offstage.
"His signings after events often took hours because he made time to talk to everyone in queues of a hundred or more people, not just doing small talk but asking questions himself, finding out about them, doing selfies, enjoying spending time with the people who loved his poetry or music. This was after quite exhausting physical sets on stage, so he’d end up even more exhausted at the end of the night, but this was something he always insisted on being able to do. We might end up with just him behind a table talking to one of the last people who’d waited for ages in the queue, with the caretaker jangling his keys impatient to lock up, but he’d have a word for the caretaker as well as he made sure that those last readers or fans got just as much connection with him as the first. He made everyone feel special."
On X (formerly Twitter), writer and co-founder of The Black Writers’ Guild Nels Abbey said: “Our learned and beloved elder, Benjamin Zephaniah is now an ancestor. To call this crushing news is a massive understatement. He was far too young, far too brilliant and still had so much to offer. A loss we’ll never recover from. RIP Professor Zephaniah.”
Poet and writer Anthony Anaxagorou said: “Tragic and devastating in every way. Benjamin was a light, a force, a voice for so many of us in childhood and adulthood alike. The world is not fair. There’s too much to grieve in one lifetime.”
Fellow poet Michael Rosen said: “The tragic terrible news has come to me that Benjamin Zephaniah’s family have announced that Benjamin has died. I’m devastated. I admired him, respected him, learnt from him, loved him. Love and condolences to the family and to all who loved him too.”
Poet and author Jackie Kay said: "Loved loved loved Benjamin Zephaniah - never forget his kindness, his bravery, his beauty. The world was a better place with him in it. So sad. He changed things!" Writer Jeffrey Boakye wrote: "Hard to know what to say or where to begin. Benjamin Zephaniah has travelled with me throughout my career as an educator, a guiding light and giant for Black Britain, all Britain, all of us. Prayers and thoughts with his family. He leaves a legacy that will never fade."
Meanwhile The Black British Book Festival said: "We’re deeply saddened by the loss of Benjamin Zephaniah, a pioneering Dub Poet and Author whose energy, vibe, and unapologetic work paved the way for Black British Writers. We’re forever grateful for his contributions and commitment. He’s legacy will live on forever. Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time. Peace and love."
Zephaniah was born and raised in Birmingham, before moving to London in his early 20s, and published his first poetry collection, Pen Rhythm, in 1980. The book sold well, but it was in performance that Zephaniah became most famous. His early work used dub poetry, a Jamaican style of work that has evolved into the music genre of the same name, and he would also perform with the group The Benjamin Zephaniah Band.
His second collection of poetry, The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985), contained a number of poems attacking the British legal system. He also wrote five novels as well as poetry for children, and his first book for younger readers, Talking Turkeys (Puffin), was a huge success when published in 1994.
Zephaniah was also an actor and appeared in the BBC drama series "Peaky Blinders" between 2013 and 2022. He famously rejected an OBE in 2003 due to the association of such an honour with the British Empire and its history of slavery, and often spoke out about issues such as racial abuse and education.
He was Writer in Residence at the Africa Arts Collective in Liverpool, and was a candidate for the post of Professor of Poetry at Oxford University. He held an honorary doctorate in Arts and Humanities from the University of North London, was made a Doctor of Letters by the University of Central England and a Doctor of the University by the University of Staffordshire.
Recent books include autobiography The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (Scribner, 2018, shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award), and further books for children, including Windrush Child (Scholastic, 2020) and We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu (Scholastic, 2022).
Suzanne Baboneau, managing director for the adult publishing division at Simon & Schuster UK, said it was a “huge privilege” to publish Zephaniah’s memoir. She told The Bookseller: “Benjamin was an incredibly warm, generous and engaged author, collaborative every step of the way. We are profoundly saddened to hear the news of his death. It is such a great loss to the poetry and wider literary world.”
Catherine Bell, m.d. at Scholastic UK, added: “We are so devastated to hear the sad news about Benjamin Zephaniah. In our work with schools, we have seen the genuine connection that he was able to make with children and adults through his poetry and story-telling and the impact of his writing has transformed lives. From the vibrant performance poetry of Talking Turkeys to the importance of his recent book, Windrush Child, Benjamin spoke to all children. His words have been responsible for educating, fostering empathy and understanding and giving children strength on their various journeys. On a personal level, he was just a delight to be around and spend time with, always charming, laid back and at ease with people from all walks of life with a pioneering energy that was infectious. His amazing career has left such a joyful legacy that children will continue to benefit from for decades to come.”
Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children’s, said the publisher was "saddened" by his loss and "extremely proud to publish some of his most brilliant, and innovative and inspiring poetry for young people". She told The Bookseller: "His poetry is loved for its humour and wordplay by children – what could be more engaging than the opening lines of one of his popular poems ‘Talking Turkeys’,
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas
Cos’ turkeys just wanna hav fun
– but also by teachers and librarians for whom he has been a beloved favourite for decades. We know his books, which have brought joy to millions, will live on in classrooms and libraries. At Penguin we appreciated him not just as an author but as a founding supporter of Lit in Colour, a joint campaign by Penguin and The Runnymede Trust to support schools to make the teaching and learning of English literature more inclusive. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends at this time.”
The team at The Reading Agency also praised Zephaniah’s wider work on literacy as an ambassador for the charity. "He was especially motivated to engage young men in the power of reading, and particularly those who felt ostracised and alienated from wider society" they said.
Diana Gerald, chief executive of BookTrust, described Zephaniah as "a pioneer of the performance poetry scene", noting "his message was one of unity, peace and expression through creativity."
She said: "Benjamin’s energy and love for words and their ability to change children’s lives will be sorely missed.”
Michaela Morgan, one of the committee members on the Society of Authors (SoA) Poetry and Spoken Word group, said Zephaniah’s poems "have connected with generations of readers from the young at primary school to the inmates of many a prison - huge and varied audiences who found poetry that connected, entertained, educated and delighted" adding "Benjamin will be very much missed by very many but we will all continue to read his novels and to hear his poems which live on and carry the authentic sound of his own voice."
Matt Steele, the owner of the The Ivybridge Bookshop in Devon, added: "For me, from schools and bookshops from Hong Kong to Devon, Benjamin Zephaniah was one of the most recognisable and leading voices in poetry, and really succeeded in showing that poetry is absolutely not boring, but fun and inspiring."
Zephaniah sold 400,000 units in the BookScan era for £2.6m. His biggest sellers are YA novels Refugee Boy (Bloomsbury Children’s, 2001), which sold 88,000 copies in all editions, and Face (also Bloomsbury Children’s, 1999) on 66,000 copies.
