He befriended Nelson Mandela, fought in the 1980s race riots and recorded radical reggae music with Bob Marley's former band. Benjamin Zephaniah was unable to read and write at school but became one of Britain's most remarkable poets. And now he's back to continue his first tour in eight years, which coincides with his remarkable autobiography, The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah. He will be visiting the Connaught Theatre on Sunday 27 October with his talk beginning at 7:30pm.
In this compelling and inspiring show, Zephaniah will explain how he fought injustice and discrimination to lead a remarkable life, while sharing a selection of favourite stories and poems. Signed copies of his autobiography The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah will be available after the show.
Dr Benjamin Zephaniah was born and raised in Birmingham, and cannot remember a time when he was not creating poetry, strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls 'street politics'. Having left fulltime education at the age of 13, he had developed a strong following in his hometown as a young poet who was capable of speaking on local and international issues by the age of 15. At the age of 22 he headed to London, published his first book of poetry and began to develop his reputation as perhaps Britain's most filmed, photographed, and identifiable poet, whose poetry was political, musical, radical and relevant.
He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of
Bob Marley in a musical tribute to
Nelson Mandela, Free South Africa. Mandela heard the tribute and they have now built a relationship which has led to Zephaniah working with children in South African townships. Most of his own musical recordings fall into the Reggae or Dub Poetry category, but his latest critically acclaimed album 'Naked' defies categorisation, and was accompanied a 36 page booklet for which graffiti artist Banksy provided the artwork.
He believes that working with human rights groups, animal rights groups and other political organisations means that he will never lack subject matter.
This inspiring talk is an incredible opportunity to hear about the life of the internationally acclaimed poet, writer, lyricist, and musician from the man himself.
Tickets for The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah are available from £23.50 and are available to purchase from the Worthing Theatres box office on 01903 206 206 and online at
worthingtheatres.co.uk.
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