RIP Benjamin Zephaniah

[Purple Train]

The poet and writer Benjamin Zephaniah has died at the age of 65.

(Below quote taken from (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67646607))

Writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.
A statement posted on his Instagram account confirmed he died in the early hours of Thursday.
The statement said Zephaniah's wife "was with him throughout and was by his side when he passed".
"We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news," it added.
Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. He was dyslexic and left school aged 13, unable to read or write.
Zephaniah moved to London aged 22 and published his first book, Pen Rhythm.
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.

I am completely shocked and saddened indeed by this news. It would be no exaggeration to say that Zephaniah was a truly revolutionary poet. His story provided such an inspiration to me and to many, many others of my generation. What always struck me was how he had such a magnificent skill at distilling sharp social criticism into easily accessible verse. I would say that he really drove a change in terms poetry's accessibility: poetry that could easily be analysed and understood by anyone, rather than requiring an English Literature degree to unpick tons of complex symbolism.

I can't think of any other poet to whom I have felt such a deep personal connection simply by reading their printed words - he had such a wonderful gift for that. He has gone from this world far too soon: may he rest in peace and rise in glory.

 

[THC]

"We can all be refugees
Sometimes it only takes a day,
Sometimes it only takes a handshake
Or a paper that is signed.
We all came from refugees
Nobody simply just appeared,
Nobody’s here without a struggle,
And why should we live in fear
Of the weather or the troubles?
We all came here from somewhere."

Jah bless Benjamin. Rest in peace.

THC

 

[Joe Paxton]

Well said both @Purple Train and @THC.