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Benjamin Zephaniah, a pioneering author, professor and poet whose work helped to inspire today\u2019s generation of British poets and who did not shy away from topics such as racism and social justice throughout a more than four-decades-long career, died on Thursday. He was 65.<\/p>\n
Mr. Zephaniah died from a brain tumor, which was diagnosed eight weeks ago, his family said in a statement.<\/p>\n
He was born in Birmingham, England, on April 15, 1958. When he was 22, he moved to London where a small publisher put out his first book, \u201cPen Rhythm,\u201d in 1983. Mr. Zephaniah went on to write at least 30 books, for adults as well as for teenagers and children<\/a>.<\/p>\n His poetry was defined by humor mixed with a strong social message, as well as his personal style and rhythm. He did not shy away from heavy topics, such as racism or environmental issues, and he mentioned the climate crisis in his poetry well before many others did. Mr. Zephaniah\u2019s work was also taught in classrooms in England, making him a recognizable name for children and adults alike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHis poems packed a punch for social justice,\u201d said Judith Palmer, the director of the Poetry Society, a British arts organization. She described them as gentle and humorous at the same time.<\/p>\n One such poem is \u201cTalking Turkeys<\/a>,\u201d published in 1994, in which Mr. Zephaniah mixes his kindness toward animals (he became a vegan at 13<\/a>) with humor and rhythm:<\/p>\n Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas<\/em> He also recorded multiple albums of music and poetry, performed in venues of all sizes and, between 2013 and 2022, had a recurring role as the character Jeremiah Jesus in the hit show \u201cPeaky Blinders,\u201d which was set in his hometown, Birmingham.<\/p>\n Mr. Zephaniah was known for being unapologetically Black and for opening the door to future generations of poets of color to use their own voices. He had a significant influence on younger generations in Britain\u2019s poetry community, Ms. Palmer said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe overturned ideas of who a poet could be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Mr. Zephaniah was also known for making the \u201cBritish establishment somewhat uncomfortable,\u201d said Nels Abbey, an author and co-founder of the Black Writers Guild, an organization that represents professional and emerging British writers of Black African and Black African Caribbean heritage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In 2003, Mr. Zephaniah rejected the Order of the British Empire, which is awarded to people for achievements in various fields, as a form of protest against British imperialism. \u201cStick it, Mr. Blair and Mrs. Queen,\u201d he said at the time<\/a>. \u201cStop going on about the empire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI get angry when I hear that word \u2018empire\u2019; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality,\u201d Mr. Zephaniah wrote in an essay in The Guardian<\/a> in 2003.<\/p>\n Throughout his life, he embraced his identity as a Black Brit, wearing his hair in long locs. His work was influenced by Jamaican music and poetry, and he always focused on social justice. He was also a professor of creative writing at Brunel University near London.<\/p>\n Mr. Zephaniah was open about the racism he encountered in Britain and was known to point out injustices when he saw them. In 2014, as the patron of the Newham Monitoring Project, a community-based antiracism organization in London, he created the campaign \u201cStop and Search on Trial,\u201d which sought government accountability for the way the police stopped and searched people.<\/p>\n
Cos\u2019 turkeys just wanna hav fun<\/em>
Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked<\/em>
An every turkey has a Mum.<\/em><\/p>\n