In Memory of Benjamin Zephaniah (1958–2023)

“As a young man in Birmingham, dealing with the violent, racist and oppressive realities not only of the UK government but also the National Front, he refused to turn the other cheek. Instead he declared that ‘self-defence is no offence’ – a slogan made popular during the fight against the Front in the early 1980s – in his reggae album Back to Roots (1995). This moral and philosophical clarity enabled him to embody a political rage that didn’t fade with age.”

Read in full

Artists and writers remember ‘the people’s poet’, whose prolific career foregrounded the power of the pen in engaging meaningful social commentary