Tuesday 15 April marks, what would have been, the 67th birthday of Benjamin Zephaniah. To celebrate, Northumberland based Bloodaxe Books have prepared a posthumous retrospective of his work.
Dis Poetry: Selected Poems & Lyrics brings together all the poems from his three Bloodaxe collections: City Psalms (1992), Propa Propaganda (1996) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001), as well as some from The Dread Affair (1985), along with previously unpublished work and lyrics from various recordings.
Zephaniah has been honoured in numerous ways across the UK since he died in December 2023, aged 65. In his native Birmingham, 65 trees have been planted in The Zephaniah Forest in Burbury Park, Newtown, and a blue plaque commemorating ‘The People’s Poet’ was installed at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery last October.
His poetry for adults has been published by Bloodaxe since 1992. An earlier selection of his poetry, To Do Wid Me, including a film portrait by Pamela Robertson-Pearce, was published in 2013. This new collection includes a QR code giving access to the film – enabling readers to see and hear him performing over 20 poems.
This weekend, Saturday 12 April, there is a Benjamin Zephania Day: A Festival of Rhythm, Unity & Revolution at Brunel University, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex, 11.00am to 6.30pm. Attendance is free, but booking essential. Special guests include Adjoa Andoh, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Michael Rosen, Daljit Nagra, Lemn Sissay, and Bloodaxe poet Hannah Lowe.
For full details of the Benjamin Zephaniah Day, including a Bloodaxe online launch event on Tuesday 22 April at 7.00pm BST, and references, interviews and articles – click BENJAMIN
Zephaniah, B. (15 April 2025) Dis Poetry: Selected Poems & Lyrics, Bloodaxe Books.
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