The latest news, reviews and comment on Benjamin Zephaniah
April 2024
The best original photographs from the Observer
Original Observer Photography
From a mural in Birmingham commemorating poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the Observer’s favourite food shops: the best original photographs from the Observer commissioned in April 2024
Birmingham mural honours legacy of poet giant Benjamin Zephaniah
The tribute will be unveiled in Handsworth Park, near where the poet grew up, after the accidental removal of another artwork in the city
Apology after Benjamin Zephaniah mural painted over in Birmingham
Council contractor says sorry amid anger at removal of artwork of poet from an underpass in Hockley area
January 2024
Letter: Benjamin Zephaniah obituary
Nicolas Kent writes: He always accepted honorary doctorates because the idea of education and studying was paramount
15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023 The fellow poet recalls his hero, a writer of inspirational power and integrity who turned down an OBE but revelled in the love of his readers
Benjamin Zephaniah was a trailblazer. He broke every glass ceiling going
Lemn Sissay
His dub poetry had a rhythm that attached you to its words. He was a rebel, a guiding light, and my hero
‘His poetry, his activism… I was inspired’: readers pay tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah
Those who met and worked with him, and those who had their lives changed by his work, remember their connections to the writer and performer
As we mourn Benjamin Zephaniah’s death, learn this lesson from his brilliant life
Hugh Muir
He was a man of strong progressive views, readily expressed, and yet retained a public affection that ensured his voice was heard, says Guardian columnist Hugh Muir
