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Metafilter tags: benjaminzephaniah, Britain, obituary, poet, zephaniah
Author: plonkee
One of the important voices of modern Britain, Benjamin Zephaniah was not much like other poets teenagers get introduced to.
Born in Handsworth, Birmingham and spending most of his adult life in London, from the 1980s Zephaniah popularised performance poetry. He was a committed activist and actor whose works appeared in school exam syllabuses and declined an MBE in 2003. If you want to get a taste for his work then The British is my personal favourite, others may prefer his Ode to Aston Villa, but you can find a wide selection on his website. His family announced his death on twitter, following a brain tumour diagnosis 8 weeks ago.