This was really sad news to come across this morning, just after I'd been teaching using one of Benjamin's books with my Year 7 group. Taken so young...
Poet and author Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65 and family say he leaves a "joyful and fantastic legacy"https://t.co/ndriColfRe
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) December 7, 2023
I have used Benjamin's work over the years.
His poem 'Talking Turkeys' is part of the work we do on food, around Christmas time in particular.
We also use his poem 'The British' as part of our work on citizenship and identity.
Benjamin also narrated Daniel Raven Ellison's film 'The UK in 100 Seconds'.
Sad to learn that Benjamin Zephaniah has died. He was always so kind and generous to me... to so very many people.
— Dan Raven-Ellison (@DanRavenEllison) December 7, 2023
Loved making this with Benjamin.
"I need more trees please
I think more nature would be greater
so what if we made more space for nature" pic.twitter.com/cb3sN4kjkt
Finally, we have been using his book 'Windrush Child' for three years with our Year 7 groups. We have an Audible version of it now to aid the teaching. The resources have been shared previously, over on my Geography teaching blog.
Twitter has been full of memories of Benjamin ever since the news came out:
What a huge loss, humanist, humorist and radical poet & writer Benjamin Zephaniah is but his words are cut in steel in Sheffield.
— Carl Lee (@geoeverything) December 7, 2023
"We can say that they are all romantics and intellectuals. These streets are full of heroes." pic.twitter.com/hNgQKOYgI5
Another excellent contribution was Benjamin's talk at Hay Festival Digital in 2021, where he talked about his book 'Windrush Child'.This was full of insight and interest. Some posts on my teaching jobs are here.
A podcast worth listening to here.
And a programme on his home city of Birmingham.
Condolences to friends and family...
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