‘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
• Benjamin Zephaniah – three poems
• Benjamin Zephaniah – a life in pictures

I have a memory, at age nine, of reading a poem in year four (around 2000 or 2001), called Funky Chicken. I must have loved the absurd humour and playful tone, because it stayed with me for many years. I remember Benjamin Zephaniah being a presence since then. He was probably the first poet whose name I could remember. I’ve since loved everything he does and says and believe him to be a pioneer in art, education and social change. What a force, a true artist, actor and revolutionary. Ogul Can, 32, actor and musician, Lewisham

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