The Author - PlayWright - Benjamin Zephaniah

About the Author

Benjamin Zephaniah is the author and playwright of 'Face The Play'. He is a very influential and significant figure in the literary world of contemporary Britain.

1) Upload an image of the author. 

2) Find out 3 facts about him. 

• Benjamin Zephaniah is a British poet and writer. In 2008, he was voted one of Britain’s top 50 in a poll by the Times newspaper. 
• Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Birmingham in April, 1958. He was dyslexic, and left school at 13, since he was unable read or write.
• His poetry is influenced by the street culture of Jamaica. His first performance was at the age of 10, and by the age of 15, he was quite well known in Birmingham.
• Benjamin Zephaniah moved to London when he was 22. 
• He was described as Britain’s most recognizable poet. 
• His poems were usually about homelessness or unemployment.

3) Zephaniah is noted for his poetry as well as novels, music and plays. Look at some of his poems and select one that you like; upload it and say why you chose that particular one. 

Talking Turkeys!

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas 

Cos' turkeys just wanna hav fun 

Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked 

An every turkey has a Mum. 

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas, 

Don't eat it, keep it alive, 

It could be yu mate, an not on your plate 

Say, Yo! Turkey I'm on your side. 

I got lots of friends who are turkeys 

An all of dem fear christmas time, 

Dey wanna enjoy it, dey say humans destroyed it 

An humans are out of dere mind, 

Yeah, I got lots of friends who are turkeys 

Dey all hav a right to a life, 

Not to be caged up an genetically made up 

By any farmer an his wife. 

Turkeys just wanna play reggae 

Turkeys just wanna hip-hop 

Can yu imagine a nice young turkey saying, 

ÒI cannot wait for de chopÓ, 

Turkeys like getting presents, dey wanna watch christmas TV, 

Turkeys hav brains an turkeys feel pain 

In many ways like yu an me. 

I once knew a turkey called........ Turkey 

He said "Benji explain to me please, 

Who put de turkey in christmas 

An what happens to christmas trees?", 

I said "I am not too sure turkey 

But itÕs nothing to do wid Christ Mass 

Humans get greedy an waste more dan need be 

An business men mek loadsa cash'. 

Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas 

Invite dem indoors fe sum greens 

Let dem eat cake an let dem partake 

In a plate of organic grown beans, 

Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas 

An spare dem de cut of de knife, 

Join Turkeys United an dey'll be delighted 

An yu will mek new friends 'FOR LIFE'.

After doing a thorough research about different poems that Benjamin Zephaniah has written, I believe this is my favorite. I have found that this poem 'Talking Turkeys!' is a poetry book written for children, and the moment it was published it became an immediate bestseller. I believe, what makes it a bestseller is that it feels like a child would write in this language style and format, making him very deeply connected and relatable with the reader. His language is very free and informal, he makes the reader feel very close to him and as well as being able to relate to the author, as he uses common man language to address the reader comfortably. The poem is about 'Turkeys' as the title suggests, and it revolves around the topic of equality and unity. Since, the poet illustrates the unusual but touching idea that turkeys, like you and I, are living things and must be treated equally and respectfully. The poem discusses the idea that it is not fair for us humans to kill turkeys, since they are living things too. The poet uses a language which is child friendly, however still conveys a strong message. He explains how a turkey, like you and I has a mother. He simply says "An every turkey has a Mum.

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas, Don't eat it, keep it alive," which is a more gentle and funnier direction to take on this particular topic, in order to involve young children. 

I feel that since he was a dyslexic child he wanted to use minimalistic and easy or dumbed-down language to show all of his readers to respect everyone, whether they suffer from a disability or not. He also gives hope to those people has he himself gone onto doing a task very challenging for himself, however I think that the courage he held made him push through the tough times to follow his dreams of writing.  I personally have chosen this particular poem because I am able to relate to the state and feeling the poet has gone through in his childhood, and I am able to empathize along with him, and I show great admiration towards him. I feel that he is a very straightforward yet powerful writer, because he is able to freely speak about his condition through poetry without having the fear of being judged. 

4) Zephaniah often explores themes of race in his work. Is that true for what you have read of 'Face The Play' so far? Explain your answer. 

Yes, I believe that Benjamin Zephaniah explores several themes of race in his work of poetry, plays, etc. I see the evidence in the play that we are currently studying 'Face the play'. He uses minor characters within the play to portray an extensive role to imprint an impact on the audience. He used the street voices of the play to deliver common man thoughts and ideas to the audience, as well as discuss themes of different race in order to portray a diverse cultural background. This is because he has traveled around the world and has felt the need to share his experience, thoughts and beliefs to others through his work, and so he does. An adequate example of this is, "Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Polish, Latvian, Greek, Somalian, and Turkish" as well as "Christian, Muslim, Jew, Sikh, and a dozen of other faiths, some you've never heard of," which is seen in the opening of scene 4, and delivered by the street voices 6 and 3. Through the street voices Benjamin Zephaniah explored the different themes of race, and in doing so, he expresses his feelings about the different cultures, and how each culture is important to form someone's identity. As a child growing up he experienced many different cultures due to the immense amount of traveling he had done around the world. Visiting many different countries around the world made him much more culturally aware and that effected the way he wrote his plays, poems, etc. In 'Face the play', he explains to the audience his point of view on East London, and its beauty in diverse cultures and religions. The audience (people like you and I) gets to see different cultures without them having to be labelled in order to be globally recognized. In our society (even through our experienced eras and historical events) still label/stereo typical remarks/characterize the different people we come across. For example: All Americans are obese, all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists, men are strong and do all the work, and so on... However, THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN REALITY! Not all the people we have labeled are the same, and this play helps us discover the different cultures through their culture instead of their usual stereotype to address them. This gives me the idea that Benjamin Zephaniah's view on East London is a very open and free place where there is hardly any racial segregation and people are not judged by their color or race. His way of understanding one's identity makes me feel more pleased with our society, since he shows a very open mind to our society unlike the rest of us. In the play we get to see how the street voices are regular people in the crowd who have their own identity and culture which builds their status, not their color or race. After building a greater understanding of the play I see the deeper and unseen meaning to it. I now understand the author much more, and through this experience I feel I have built a close emotional bond with the author as well as East London. 

5) Any other interesting information?

• Benjamin Zephaniah is known for his strong and often controversial beliefs and opinions. He has suggested changing the British voting system, and has publicly turned down an OBE medal.
• In 1991, Benjamin Zephaniah performed on all 6 continents in just a 3 week time period.
• He has a fan club in the central African country of Malawi, and he spends a lot of his time in Beijing, China.
• His version of the song Tam Lyn Retold won a best song award in 2008.
• Benjamin Zephaniah has been awarded the BBC Young Playwright’s Award, as well as honorary doctorates from several UK universities.