Dis Poetry
Selected Poems & Lyrics
Published on 15. April 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-78037-741-4 (ISBN)
Description
Benjamin Zephaniah (1958-2023) was a writer and performer of extraordinary range: an oral poet, novelist, playwright, children's writer, reggae artist, actor, television personality and political activist. Born and raised in Birmingham, he was sent to an approved school for being uncontrollable, rebellious and 'a born failure', ending up in jail for burglary and affray. After prison he turned from crime to music and poetry. He was later nominated for Oxford Professor of Poetry, and voted Britain's third favourite poet of all time (after T.S. Eliot and John Donne) in a BBC poll.
Benjamin was a poet who wouldn't stay silent, who didn't pull any punches, who wrote out of a sense of urgency and a commitment to social justice. Known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults as well as his poetry with attitude for children, he had his own rap/reggae band. He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley, in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela, which Mandela heard while in prison on Robben Island.
Dis Poetry brings together all the poems from Benjamin's three Bloodaxe collections, City Psalms (1992), Propa Propaganda (1996) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001), as well as some from The Dread Affair (1985), along with previously unpublished work and lyrics from various recordings.
The book includes a QR code giving access to Pamela Robertson-Pearce's feature film To Do Wid Me originally released as a DVD-book in 2015 - enabling you to see and hear Benjamin performing in full over 20 of the poems in Dis Poetry on your phone while reading the book.
Benjamin was a poet who wouldn't stay silent, who didn't pull any punches, who wrote out of a sense of urgency and a commitment to social justice. Known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults as well as his poetry with attitude for children, he had his own rap/reggae band. He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley, in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela, which Mandela heard while in prison on Robben Island.
Dis Poetry brings together all the poems from Benjamin's three Bloodaxe collections, City Psalms (1992), Propa Propaganda (1996) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001), as well as some from The Dread Affair (1985), along with previously unpublished work and lyrics from various recordings.
The book includes a QR code giving access to Pamela Robertson-Pearce's feature film To Do Wid Me originally released as a DVD-book in 2015 - enabling you to see and hear Benjamin performing in full over 20 of the poems in Dis Poetry on your phone while reading the book.
Reviews / Votes
He'll be remembered as a poet of justice, of peace, of people power - as someone who was profoundly principled and lovable and full of soulful integrity. For me, Benjamin has been a sounding board, a model, a shrine, a cultural touchpoint throughout my entire life. If I had a poetry father, it really was him. -- Raymond Antrobus * The Observer * He's left us with his charm, his poetry, his revolutionary ways, his caring for people, his inclusiveness. -- Joan Armatrading * BBC Two's Newsnight * The man was a force, an energy, a blast... Benjamin took everything life threw at him and turned it into poetry... His poems encourage us to never give up, to keep the flame of hope burning. -- Jackie Kay * the i paper *More details
Edition
Paperback original
Language
English
Place of publication
Tyne and Wear
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
558 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78037-741-4 (9781780377414)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2025
Bloodaxe Books
€23.49
Available for download
Person
Benjamin Zephaniah (1958-2023) was a writer and performer of extraordinary range: an oral poet, novelist, playwright, children's writer, reggae artist, actor, television personality and political activist. Born in Birmingham, he grew up in Handsworth, where he was sent to an approved school for being uncontrollable, rebellious and 'a born failure', ending up in jail for burglary and affray. After prison he turned from crime to music and poetry. In 1989 he was nominated for Oxford Professor of Poetry, and received honorary doctorates from several English universities, but famously refused to accept a nomination for an OBE in 2003. He was voted Britain's third favourite poet of all time (after T.S. Eliot and John Donne) in a BBC poll in 2009. In 2011 he was poet-in-residence at Keats House in 2011, and then made a radical career change by taking up his first ever academic position as a chair in Creative Writing at Brunel University in West London. He appeared in a number of television programmes, including Peaky Blinders, Eastenders, The Bill, Live and Kicking, Blue Peter and Wise Up, and played Gower in a BBC Radio 3 production of Shakespeare's Pericles in 2005.
Best known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults - and his poetry with attitude for children - he had his own rap/reggae band. He produced numerous recordings, including Dub Ranting (1982), Rasta (1983), Us and Dem (1990), Back to Roots (1995), Belly of de Beast (1996) and Naked (2004). He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley, in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela, which Mandela heard while in prison on Robben Island. Their later meetings led to Zephaniah working with children in South African townships and hosting the President's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1996.
His first book of poems, Pen Rhythm, was produced in 1980 by a small East London publishing cooperative, Page One Books. His second collection, The Dread Affair, was published by Hutchinson's short-lived Arena imprint in 1985. He published three collections with Bloodaxe, City Psalms (1992), Propa Propaganda (1996) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001), the latter including poems written while working with Michael Mansfield QC and other Tooks barristers on the Stephen Lawrence case. His DVD-book To Do Wid Me: Benjamin Zephaniah live and direct (filmed by Pamela Robertson-Pearce) followed from Bloodaxe in 2013. His posthumous retrospective Dis Poetry - out in 2025 - brings together all the poems from Benjamin's three Bloodaxe collections, City Psalms, Propa Propaganda and Too Black, Too Strong, as well as some from The Dread Affair, along with previously unpublished work and lyrics from various recordings.
His other titles include his poetry books for children, Talking Turkeys (1994), Funky Chickens (1996) and Wicked World (2000), all from Puffin/Penguin; his novels for teenagers, Face (1999), Refugee Boy (2001), Gangsta Rap (2004) and Teacher's Dead (2007), all from Bloomsbury; The Bloomsbury Book of Love Poems (1999); Schools Out: Poems Not for School (1997) and The Little Book of Vegan Poems (2001) from AK Press; and We Are Britain (Frances Lincoln, 2003). He published his autobiography, The Life and Rhymes and Benjamin Zephaniah, with Simon & Schuster in 2018.
Best known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults - and his poetry with attitude for children - he had his own rap/reggae band. He produced numerous recordings, including Dub Ranting (1982), Rasta (1983), Us and Dem (1990), Back to Roots (1995), Belly of de Beast (1996) and Naked (2004). He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley, in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela, which Mandela heard while in prison on Robben Island. Their later meetings led to Zephaniah working with children in South African townships and hosting the President's Two Nations Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1996.
His first book of poems, Pen Rhythm, was produced in 1980 by a small East London publishing cooperative, Page One Books. His second collection, The Dread Affair, was published by Hutchinson's short-lived Arena imprint in 1985. He published three collections with Bloodaxe, City Psalms (1992), Propa Propaganda (1996) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001), the latter including poems written while working with Michael Mansfield QC and other Tooks barristers on the Stephen Lawrence case. His DVD-book To Do Wid Me: Benjamin Zephaniah live and direct (filmed by Pamela Robertson-Pearce) followed from Bloodaxe in 2013. His posthumous retrospective Dis Poetry - out in 2025 - brings together all the poems from Benjamin's three Bloodaxe collections, City Psalms, Propa Propaganda and Too Black, Too Strong, as well as some from The Dread Affair, along with previously unpublished work and lyrics from various recordings.
His other titles include his poetry books for children, Talking Turkeys (1994), Funky Chickens (1996) and Wicked World (2000), all from Puffin/Penguin; his novels for teenagers, Face (1999), Refugee Boy (2001), Gangsta Rap (2004) and Teacher's Dead (2007), all from Bloomsbury; The Bloomsbury Book of Love Poems (1999); Schools Out: Poems Not for School (1997) and The Little Book of Vegan Poems (2001) from AK Press; and We Are Britain (Frances Lincoln, 2003). He published his autobiography, The Life and Rhymes and Benjamin Zephaniah, with Simon & Schuster in 2018.
Content
from THE DREAD AFFAIR (1985)
13 Dedication
14 Dem people stone poets
15 Nature's politics
15 Fight dem
17 Nice one Handsworth
18 Anti-society
19 Ess double you nine (Brixton)
19 Can't keep good dread down
20 The boat is sinking
22 Freedom side
23 Who killed Colin Roach
24 Ganja rock
25 The day dat I met Lady Di
26 Pen rhythm
27 Dreadie high-rise farm
29 Dis policeman keeps on kicking me to death
31 South Afrika
CITY PSALMS (1992)
35 Man to Man
36 Dis Poetry
38 A Bomb
39 A bomb pusher writes
40 Overstanding
41 Speak
42 A writer rants
42 Money (rant)
46 No rights red an half dead
47 According to my mood
47 The Cold War
49 As a African
50 My God! You God!
50 A Picture of a Sign
52 Yo Bowy
53 Tiananmen Square
54 Royals do it too
56 Black Whole
57 Rapid Rapping (rant)
60 Call it what yu like
63 Us & Dem
65 Cut de crap
66 Me green poem
70 Comrades an Frens
71 A modern slave song
72 U-Turn
73 How's dat
74 She's crying for many
76 Question
77 The sun
78 Ringside
80 Black Politics of Today
82 The Old Truth
PROPA PROPAGANDA (1996)
84 I Have a Scheme
86 The Death of Joy Gardner
88 Terrible World
89 White Comedy
90 Belly of de Beast
92 De Rong Song
93 Save Our Sons (SOS)
94 Reggae Head
96 Dry
97 Meditate and Communicate
98 More Animal Writes
100 Who Dun It?
102 The Angry Black Poet
104 Poor Millionaires
105 Silence in Our Screams
107 Back to What
108 To Be Seen, To Be Done
109 One Day in Babylon
110 City Lights
111 No Problem
112 Dancing the Tradition
114 Neighbours
115 Another World
116 Family Values
117 The War Process
118 Want To Be a Soldier
120 Sit Con
121 City River Blues
122 Tricky
122 Altered Ego
123 Homeward Bound
125 Parents Today
126 The Curse of Count Empire
128 Art
128 Words
128 Hope
129 Mad Human Disease
130 Master, Master
131 Cybersex
133 Ageism
134 Acts of Parliament: motion 1
135 Acts of Parliament: motion 2
136 Acts of Parliament: motion 3
137 The President Is Dead Again
141 Independence
142 De Queen an I
144 Walking Black Home
145 Self Defence
146 Tax Relief
147 Heckling Miss Lou
148 Childless
TOO BLACK, TOO STRONG (2001)
151 What Am I Going On About?
156 Bought And Sold
157 What If
158 Breakfast in East Timor
160 What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us
162 To Ricky Reel
164 To Michael Menson
165 Having a Word
166 Reminders
167 Appeal Dismissed
168 Chant of a Homesick Nigga
170 This Be The Worst
170 Time
171 The Woman Has to Die
172 Kill Them Before Ramadan
175 The Empire Comes Back
177 The Men From Jamaica Are Settling Down
181 I Neva Shot De Sheriff
185 Carnival Days
187 Naked
191 Adultery
192 Going Cheap
193 Christmas Has Been Shot
195 Two Dozen Babylon
196 Three Black Males
197 We People Too
200 Anti-Slavery Movements
201 Knowing Me
203 The Race Industry
204 Biko the Greatness
205 Derry Sunday
206 The One Minutes of Silence
209 The Drunk on Green Street
210 The Ride
211 To Do Wid Me
215 Nu Blue Suede Shoes
217 The Approved School of Reggae
219 Do Something Illegal
220 Translate
221 The London Breed
222 Heroes
222 The Big Bang
from NAKED (2004)
226 Uptown Downtown
227 Superstar
228 Our Fathers
229 Slow Motion
230 Things We Say
from TO DO WID ME (2015)
233 Wake Up
236 Nu Run Away
238 Rong Radio
241 Touch
243 Responsible
245 Genetics
from REVOLUTIONARY MINDS (2017)
249 Earth Liberation Sound
250 Revolutionary Minds
253 President
254 Cool Down
255 Hot Like Jamaica
256 In This World
259 I Am a Revolutionary
260 Uprising Downtown
262 You Dream
UNCOLLECTED POEMS & LYRICS
264 The Traveller
265 The Spirit Level
267 Tam Lyn (retold)
273 Difference
274 Happy Everyday
274 Strange Truth
275 Magic
276 Evolution
NOTES
278 Editorial note
279 Acknowledgements & notes on poems
283 Glossary of names
13 Dedication
14 Dem people stone poets
15 Nature's politics
15 Fight dem
17 Nice one Handsworth
18 Anti-society
19 Ess double you nine (Brixton)
19 Can't keep good dread down
20 The boat is sinking
22 Freedom side
23 Who killed Colin Roach
24 Ganja rock
25 The day dat I met Lady Di
26 Pen rhythm
27 Dreadie high-rise farm
29 Dis policeman keeps on kicking me to death
31 South Afrika
CITY PSALMS (1992)
35 Man to Man
36 Dis Poetry
38 A Bomb
39 A bomb pusher writes
40 Overstanding
41 Speak
42 A writer rants
42 Money (rant)
46 No rights red an half dead
47 According to my mood
47 The Cold War
49 As a African
50 My God! You God!
50 A Picture of a Sign
52 Yo Bowy
53 Tiananmen Square
54 Royals do it too
56 Black Whole
57 Rapid Rapping (rant)
60 Call it what yu like
63 Us & Dem
65 Cut de crap
66 Me green poem
70 Comrades an Frens
71 A modern slave song
72 U-Turn
73 How's dat
74 She's crying for many
76 Question
77 The sun
78 Ringside
80 Black Politics of Today
82 The Old Truth
PROPA PROPAGANDA (1996)
84 I Have a Scheme
86 The Death of Joy Gardner
88 Terrible World
89 White Comedy
90 Belly of de Beast
92 De Rong Song
93 Save Our Sons (SOS)
94 Reggae Head
96 Dry
97 Meditate and Communicate
98 More Animal Writes
100 Who Dun It?
102 The Angry Black Poet
104 Poor Millionaires
105 Silence in Our Screams
107 Back to What
108 To Be Seen, To Be Done
109 One Day in Babylon
110 City Lights
111 No Problem
112 Dancing the Tradition
114 Neighbours
115 Another World
116 Family Values
117 The War Process
118 Want To Be a Soldier
120 Sit Con
121 City River Blues
122 Tricky
122 Altered Ego
123 Homeward Bound
125 Parents Today
126 The Curse of Count Empire
128 Art
128 Words
128 Hope
129 Mad Human Disease
130 Master, Master
131 Cybersex
133 Ageism
134 Acts of Parliament: motion 1
135 Acts of Parliament: motion 2
136 Acts of Parliament: motion 3
137 The President Is Dead Again
141 Independence
142 De Queen an I
144 Walking Black Home
145 Self Defence
146 Tax Relief
147 Heckling Miss Lou
148 Childless
TOO BLACK, TOO STRONG (2001)
151 What Am I Going On About?
156 Bought And Sold
157 What If
158 Breakfast in East Timor
160 What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us
162 To Ricky Reel
164 To Michael Menson
165 Having a Word
166 Reminders
167 Appeal Dismissed
168 Chant of a Homesick Nigga
170 This Be The Worst
170 Time
171 The Woman Has to Die
172 Kill Them Before Ramadan
175 The Empire Comes Back
177 The Men From Jamaica Are Settling Down
181 I Neva Shot De Sheriff
185 Carnival Days
187 Naked
191 Adultery
192 Going Cheap
193 Christmas Has Been Shot
195 Two Dozen Babylon
196 Three Black Males
197 We People Too
200 Anti-Slavery Movements
201 Knowing Me
203 The Race Industry
204 Biko the Greatness
205 Derry Sunday
206 The One Minutes of Silence
209 The Drunk on Green Street
210 The Ride
211 To Do Wid Me
215 Nu Blue Suede Shoes
217 The Approved School of Reggae
219 Do Something Illegal
220 Translate
221 The London Breed
222 Heroes
222 The Big Bang
from NAKED (2004)
226 Uptown Downtown
227 Superstar
228 Our Fathers
229 Slow Motion
230 Things We Say
from TO DO WID ME (2015)
233 Wake Up
236 Nu Run Away
238 Rong Radio
241 Touch
243 Responsible
245 Genetics
from REVOLUTIONARY MINDS (2017)
249 Earth Liberation Sound
250 Revolutionary Minds
253 President
254 Cool Down
255 Hot Like Jamaica
256 In This World
259 I Am a Revolutionary
260 Uprising Downtown
262 You Dream
UNCOLLECTED POEMS & LYRICS
264 The Traveller
265 The Spirit Level
267 Tam Lyn (retold)
273 Difference
274 Happy Everyday
274 Strange Truth
275 Magic
276 Evolution
NOTES
278 Editorial note
279 Acknowledgements & notes on poems
283 Glossary of names