*A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week*
Benjamin Zephaniah, who travelled the world for his art and his humanitarianism, tells the one story that encompasses it all: the story of his life.
In the early 1980s when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about unemployment, homelessness and the National Front, Benjamin’s poetry could be heard at demonstrations, outside police stations and on the dance floor. His mission was to take poetry everywhere, and to popularise it by reaching people who didn’t read books. His poetry was political, musical, radical and relevant.
By the early 1990s, Benjamin had performed on every continent in the world (a feat which he achieved in only one year) and he hasn’t stopped performing and touring since. Nelson Mandela, after hearing Benjamin’s tribute to him while he was in prison, requested an introduction to the poet that grew into a lifelong relationship, inspiring Benjamin’s work with children in South Africa. Benjamin would also go on to be the first artist to record with The Wailers after the death of Bob Marley in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela.
The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah is a truly extraordinary life story which celebrates the power of poetry and the importance of pushing boundaries with the arts.
- 320 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Dedication
- Introduction
- 1. Early Days in Old Birmingham
- 2. Wake Up and Smell the Racism
- 3. Journey to the Motherland
- 4. Come On Over, Valerie
- 5. Marriage, Music and Rhyme
- 6. New Beginnings, Old Problems
- 7. Moving in with the Church
- 8. My Other, Wild Family
- 9. Learning to Hustle
- 10. Animal Liberation Time
- 11. Black Liberation Time
- 12. Here Comes Babylon System
- 13. Dancing the Blues
- 14. Borstal Boy
- 15. Cars, Money, Girls
- 16. How Crime Paid
- 17. London Calling
- 18. Kilburn and Other High Roads
- 19. Rocking Against Racism
- 20. Publishing the Unpublishable
- 21. A Bard of Stratford
- 22. From Page to Stage
- 23. The Punked-up Reggae Party
- 24. Babylon’s Burning
- 25. The New Variety
- 26. That First Album
- 27. Solidarity
- 28. To the Art of the Struggle
- 29. The Dread Affair
- 30. The Empire Strikes Back
- 31. The Yugoslavian Affair
- 32. Benjamin Zephaniah and the Wailers
- 33. A Job at the Council
- 34. Dread Poets’ Society
- 35. The Liverpool Years
- 36. Workers’ Playtime
- 37. Dreadlock in Wedlock
- 38. Nelson Mandela
- 39. Us an Dem
- 40. City Psalms
- 41. Cool Down, Rasta
- 42. Talking Turkeys
- 43. Maybe Baby
- 44. A Novel Idea
- 45. Things Fall Apart
- 46. Divorced Absolute
- 47. Justice for Us
- 48. The Blair Affair
- 49. Benjamin Zephaniah No B E
- 50. Going Country
- 51. De Botty Business
- 52. Farewell, My Friends
- 53. Kung Fu and Meditations on Funky China
- 54. Wot’s Rong wid North Korea?
- 55. Professor Zephaniah – aka Jeremiah Jesus
- 56. Crying in the Chapel
- 57. Talking ’Bout a Revolution
- 58. Let’s Get Metaphysical
- 59. A Year of Division
- 60. Know Thy Self
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah by Benjamin Zephaniah in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Literary Biographies. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.