Benjamin Zephaniah

Novelist, playwright, poet, actor, and outspoken activist Benjamin Zephaniah was born on April 15, 1958, and he spent his early life growing up in both Jamaica and Birmingham, England. Though he had been writing poems his entire life, he was also dyslexic, and he quit his formal schooling as a young teenager. In 1979 Zephaniah moved to London and released his first book of poetry, Pen Rhythm, the next year. In 1983 his debut album, Rasta, was released, followed by 1984's Us an Dem, 1995's Back to Roots, and 1996's Belly of de Beast. A prolific writer, Zephaniah was also the re...