Why performance poetry?

Conscious of the fact that only a small percentage of people read books, Benjamin believes “performing it” brings it to a lot more people and since a lot of people “sit in front of the television all day”, it seemed logical to perform on television. “I can't remember a time when I was not creating poetry – this had nothing to do with school where poetry meant very little to me. Even before I was able to write I was creating poems. I have always been doing it, I can't remember starting. I was born a poet. I didn't decide, I just was. I really can't remember a time when I wasn't 'poeting' as I call it. When I realised that other people were interested in what I had to say, I began to do lots of poetry readings and make television appearances.”  

The brand of poetry Benjamin developed was strongly influenced by the music and oral poetry of Jamaica, termed 'dub poetry' and is closely linked to Reggae music and what he calls 'street politics'. He says, “The oral traditions are timeless and the relationship with the audience is most important.  You need to read your audience to be able to fully communicate and deliver the message... as dub poets we put poetry into music, into plays... on television, radio, we perform like crazy people, we put poems on post cards and in micro chips, in fact we do anything to change the dead while and boring image of poetry”

Always encouraging people to try to actually say poems and rap them, Benjamin is undaunted that oral / performance poetry does not enjoy the same status as written poetry. "I always say that poetry is a big tree with many branches. You may get introduced to the tree by climbing on to one branch, but that does not mean that you do not explore the rest of the tree. I came on to that tree through oral poetry, but through that I have come to love classical poetry, limericks, nonsense verse – all kinds of poetry equally and that's the important thing."

Benjamin’s story

Benjamin hadn’t learnt to read and write until the age of 21, so the idea of putting his ideas down in a book was “way down the agenda” for him. Wanting to reach more people, at the age of 22 he headed south to London where Page One Books published his first book Pen Rhythm. His mission was to take poetry everywhere and he was able to do this by performing his poems.

His first book of children’s poetry, Talking Turkeys (1994), was an immediate success and had to be reprinted after six weeks. It was followed by Funky Chickens. He puts his success down to the fact that he tackled real issues such as war, racism, bullying, animal rights and environmental issues.

His album Naked, produced by the legendary Trevor Morais, features 11 tracks of his poetry performed by himself over music and has been referred to as “an aggressively, honest self portrait, a critique of modern society”. The album also comes with a 36-page book featuring Benjamin's lyrics and artwork by critically acclaimed artist Banksy who is known for leaving his mark on buildings in the form of 'beautiful, witty and gently subversive, stencils'.

His books and records have gained immense popularity in far-flung places like Malawi and the former Yugoslavia. His help during their years of struggle has been personally acknowledged by leaders like Nelson Mandela and Yasser Arafat.

Born in Birmingham in 1958, Benjamin grew up in Jamaica and in Handsworth, where he was sent to an approved school for uncontrollable rebellious attitude landing up in jail for burglary. After prison he turned from crime to music and poetry. As a reggae DJ in Handsworth he refused to mimic other toasters with their chants about Jamaican life. Instead, he turned to Britain for his native patter, comic stories and rhyme. He loved Handsworth and although he had become popular in the 1970s within the African-Caribbean and Asian communities, he was not satisfied preaching about the suffering of the black people to black people and sought a wider mainstream audience in south London.

In the early 1980s when Punks and Rasta were on the streets protesting about unfair laws, unemployment, homelessness and the national Front and because his work was so political, Benjamin’s poetry could be heard at demonstrations, youth gatherings, outside police stations, and on dance floors. This poetry was musical, radical, relevant and on TV. He strongly believes that the poets' role in society is to be a newscaster. He says, “When the news is not picking up our stories, we must tell that news through our poetry.”

In the 1990s his publications, record releases and TV appearances increased. He travelled the world many times over but feels at home in countries where there is a strong oral tradition and lists India as one of his memorable tours.

A World Poet with a Cause

Sundowners with Benjamin Zephaniah

West India

Thursday, 8 March, 7.00 p.m. at Salt Water Grill
Free passes available at the British Council office from 5 March.

Saturday, 10 March, 6.00 p.m. at Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune University
Free passes available at the British Library and venue. For enquiries call 9520 – 25654352.

Monday, 12 March, 8.00 p.m. at Natrani, Darpana Academy
Free passes available at the British Library and venue. For enquiries call 079 – 26464693.

South India

Wednesday, 14 March, 6.00 p.m. at British Council, Chennai
Saturday, 17 March, 3.30 p.m. to 4.30 pm at Ranga Shankara, 36/2, 8th Cross, J P Nagar, II Phase Bangalore

East India

Monday, 19 March at GD Birla, Sabaghar, Kolkata

Tuesday, 20 March at Jadavpur University, Kolkata

To know more about Benjamin and to listen to his poetry and music log on to www.benjaminzephaniah.com