Maestro

Benjamin Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958, Birmingham, England) was a English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list ofBritain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.
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Life and Work
Zephaniah was born and raised in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, which he calledthe "Jamaican capital of Europe". He is the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. A dyslexic, he attended an approved school but left aged 13 unable to read or write.
He writes that hispoetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls "street politics". His first performance was in church when he was ten, and by the age of fifteen, his poetry wasalready known among Handsworth's Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities. He received a criminal record with the police as a young man and served a prison sentence for burglary. Tired of the limitations ofbeing a black poet communicating with black people only, he decided to expand his audience, and headed to London at the age of twenty-two.
He became actively involved in workers co-operativein Stratford, London, which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, Pen Rhythm (Page One Books, 1980). Three editions were published. Zephaniah has said that his mission is to fight the deadimage of poetry in academia, and to "take everywhere" to people who do not read books so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances.
His second collection of poetry, The Dread Affair:Collected Poems (1985) contained a number of poems attacking the British legal system. Rasta Time in Palestine (1990), an account of a visit to the Palestinian occupied territories, contained poetryand travelogue.
His album Rasta, which featured The Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley as well as a tribute to Nelson Mandela, gained him international prestige and topped...