Benjamin Zephaniah Biography

Biography of Benjamin Zephaniah

• Born in Birmingham in 1958 to Barbadian and Jamaican parents.
• Left school at 13, unable to read or write because of dyslexia.
• Explored petty crime before relocating to London at 22 to focus on poetry.
• Learned to read in adult education classes.
• Published his first poetry collection in 1980 and has since released numerous works.
• Rejected the OBE due to strong republican political views.
• Campaigned for Amnesty International.
• Received honorary degrees from several universities.
• Appeared in the BBC series "Peaky Blinders".

Background of the Text

• Extracted from "Creative, Successful, Dyslexic" (2015), an anthology of dyslexic high-achievers.
• Other contributors include Sir Richard Branson, Eddie Izzard, and Darcey Bussell.
• Zephaniah's piece was reprinted in The Guardian online, targeting a broad audience.

Summary of the Text

• Zephaniah addresses individuals with dyslexia.
• Encourages fellow dyslexics to recognize their unique, creative perspective.
• Acknowledges the challenges of being different.
• Shares personal anecdotes from his childhood to illustrate difficulties.
• Faced dismissal in school due to dyslexia and being a young black man.
• Sent to borstal, where he resolved to take control of his future.
• Started writing poetry and attended adult education classes to learn to read and write.
• Became a professor of poetry and creative writing.
• Emphasizes that dyslexics should celebrate their difference, which fosters creativity.

Analysis of the Text

• The title uses the American slang "you've got it going on," suggesting that young dyslexic people are fortunate.
• Zephaniah aims to challenge the prejudice that dyslexic individuals are to be pitied.

Overturning Preconceptions

• The first paragraph highlights the positive aspects of dyslexia.
• Uses personal experiences to challenge reader expectations and illustrate difficulties faced by dyslexics.
• Describes how he "suffered" as a child but learned to turn his dyslexia to his advantage, fostering creativity.
• Concludes the paragraph with "We are the architects, we are the designers," moving from personal suffering to a sense of community.

Zephaniah's Schooling

• Notes that education system was inadequate, with "no education, no understanding and no humanity".
• Clarifies that his analysis isn't driven by bitterness, understanding that the system was at fault.
• States that "being kind” and "listening to problems" was not usual at the time.
• Makes a pun on "kind" by misquoting L.P. Hartley's "The Go-Between," stressing the unkindness of the past.

Contradictory Ideas

• Explains how his ideas often "contradicted" those of his teachers.
• Shares an anecdote about disagreeing with a teacher on the necessity of sleep.
• Highlights the teacher's disrespectful response, being told to "Shut up, stupid boy".

Race

• Introduces the issue of racial prejudice alongside dyslexia.
• Recounts an incident where a teacher used the racist phrase "local savages" when discussing Africa.
• Describes being reprimanded for challenging the teacher's remark.

Stereotyping

• Recalls being dismissed by a teacher when seeking help with writing.
• The teacher suggested he focus on sports due to the stereotype that black individuals should rely on abilities in sport to succeed.
• Plea for academic assistance ignored.

Poetry

• The poems existed before they were written down.
• Very limited horizon, and talking of banknotes makes people realise that Zephaniah at this time could have chosen a poor path in life, obsessed by money.
• At age 13, he could only read "very basically" to see "how much the banknote was worth".
• Sister wrote some of them down for him at age 10 or 11.

Borstal

• Expelled from numerous schools and ended up in Borstal at 13.
• "Thrown out" is used as a metaphor.
• Expelled for "being a rude boy and fighting" and "arguing with teachers on an intellectual level".
• Challenges morality by recounting how a teacher stated "the Nazis weren't that bad".
• Observed fellow inmates to learn what behaviors to avoid.
• Emphasizes that "Being observant helped me make the right choices".

Overcoming Obstacles

• Draws a parallel between the prison population and architects, noting a high percentage of dyslexic people in both.
• Acknowledges that statistically, he "should be in prison".
• Emphasizes that "staying out of prison is about conquering your fears and finding your path in life".
• Finds a clear way through potential pitfalls

Current Situation

• Visits prisons to speak with individuals with similar intelligence and qualities.
• Highlights that the difference lies in seizing opportunities.
• Never thought he was "stupid"
• "self-belief" has meant that he can stand up for himself.

Published Poet

• First book involved dictating poems to his girlfriend.
• Gained popularity "especially within the black community".
• Became known as a "dub" poet using black British and Jamaican slang.
• Poems considered "dyslexic poems" due to writing "phonetically".

Adult Education

• Attended an adult education class at 21 to learn to read and write.
• Teacher identified him as dyslexic.
• Initially reacted with humor, asking if he needed an operation.

Career

• Became an author for poetry, novels for teenagers, plays, other books and recorded music".
• Brings poetry to people who do not read poetry".
• Uses visual aids to overcome writing challenges.

Professor of Poetry

• Concerned that students will be "officially" more educated.
• Stresses the importance of "passion, creativity, individuality" over grades.
• Focuses the reader's attention on words and sounds.

Dyslexia

• States it's other people's problem and not his.
• Considers that being dyslexic is a natural way to be.
• Considers what's unnatural is the way we read and write".
• Dyslexics are forced to be creative.

Creativity

• Zephaniah then moves to address the parents of dyslexics, asking them to consider that it isn't a "defect" and that "you may have a genius on your hands".
• Uses "creativity muscles" metaphor to illustrate how working on being creative makes you better at it.
• Use their difference to their advantage
• Ends the piece with an amusing sentence, ironically turning on its head the prejudice that "normal" people have: "Bloody non dyslexics... who do they think they are?".