Dis poetry

by Benjamin Zephaniah

Summary:
Benjamin Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. His full name is Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah.
He is well known for his modern English Literature and was also included in The Times list of top 50 post
war writers in 2008 in Britain. His poems are strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica. His
first performance was when he was eleven at a church and by the time he was fifteen, his poetry was well
known among the Asian communities.
Being a black, he had to face many limitations and therefore, he decided to leave to London to expand him-
self and his audience. In London, he became an actively involved in the workers cooperative in Stratford,
London, which lead to his first publication on poems. His main mission was to fight image of poetry as
academia and he wanted to take to every person even if they could not read or write. And hence he turned
his poetry into concertlike performances, so that everyone could understand and enjoy the beauty of poetry.
He was won the BBC Young Playwright’s Award and awarded honorary doctorates from several reputed
Universities in London.
“Dis Poetry” by Zephaniah is one of a kind. It is simple, yet looks like complicated. The poem is just spoken
straight out from his mind. The poem itself says that there is no rhythm and in case, found any that is pure
coincidence. The poem is juts flatly put, to showcase that the poet is not that specific about any particular
event or thought, but yet words and thoughts in mind are much stronger than words put out.

The first part of the poem says that the poem does not hold any specifications as it is not for preaching, nor
for following, it is not for putting you to sleep or for reciting after me, it is just that pope duo in my thoughts
and is within me when I go to bed or bike. Loved Shakespeare and his work, but this is my style and I like it.

In the second stanza he says that, he is not afraid is this poem gets published, for it does require imagination
to understand. He tried being romantic, but since it was of no good to him, he even left that subject. He tried
to be personal, but all those have been discussed earlier and there is no use in discussing repeated words and
thoughts. He says the poem is for all alike, the child and adult, the wise and the fool, anybody could take it
for free and read as it is just for you and me. Inspite of all these, you yet honored from Universities under a
spotlight.
Lastly he says the poem is within him and would be with him all the time, no matter what or where he is, it
is from him to you, just like that.

This poem has depicted his own life and he has put that in simple format as just a saying through this poem.
If the entire poem is summarized and compared with Zephaniah life, it does have a lot of resemblance, he
doe clearly say that he has not come for preaching or to be followed, yet he would like to spread the mes-
sage, similarly, the poem says it is not specific for any character or subject, just like not for any age cate-
gories or politic, but for the Nation. He has clearly said in the poem, it is within me and no words would be
from the past, where he shows that his ideas were not with anyone and not like the famous poet Shake-
speare, but it has derived from within him and has been with him day and night.
The poem is just the depiction of his life and the message that he wants to convey to all, penned down beau-
tifully and simply.
In this poem, Benjamin Zephaniah uses Non-Standard English. This is often used as a technique to say chal-
lenging or radical things (as John Agard did in ‘Half-Caste’), or to emphasise that they are not part of the
‘establishment’.

In ‘Dis Poetry’, Zephaniah portrays many ideas about his opinions and he also portrays his personal experi-
ence wit poetry, and how poetry affects him as a person. Through his poem, he aims to break many of the
stereotypes surrounding poetry, and how it should be something that is accessible to all, rather than just the
elite or the well-read.
One of the main ideas that Zephaniah portrays in this poem is that poem is all about ‘freedom of expression’,
and that it is meant for everyone. He initially writes ho ‘dis poetry is not pat political’, which could be used
to suggest that poetry is not meant to affect the real world, and should be taken too seriously, but is instead
simply something that everyone can enjoy. The fact that he writes ‘i’ve tried Shakespeare, but dis is de stuff
I like’ goes to show how people should not be confined to specific types of poetry, or forced to respect po-
etry rom history, but instead that everyone should be allowed to enjoy whatever for of poetry pleases them.
Zephaniah also writes how ‘dis poetry is for de wise an foolish’, which further illustrates the point that ev-
eryone should be accessible to all. He also writes how ‘anybody can do it fe free’ and that ‘dis poetry is fe
you an me’, further showcasing his views on how poetry should be widespread and accessible. He ends the
poem with the phrase ‘it goes to you WID LUV.’ This shows how Zephaniah believes uses this poem as a
message, and the full stop after LUV could be used to emphasis this “LUV”, and show Zephaniah’s affec-
tion behind the message. Because Zephaniah believed in the need for multicultural acceptance, this poem
could be used a s message to portray how everyone should be allowed to enjoy whatever poetry they like,
not depending on their background, and this ‘LUV’ possibly is used to show Zephaniah’s love to these other
cultures.
Biography of the author:
Birmingham's dreadlocked bard Benjamin Zephaniah is blessed with a verbal musicality inspired by his Car-
ibbean heritage. His work addresses global issues such as racism, animal cruelty and the need for greater so-
cial justice, shot through with a rich humour, drawing on rap and dub rhythms, that make his poetry accessi-
ble to children and perennially popular in schools.
Born in Birmingham in 1958, Zephaniah divided his early years between the district of Handsworth and the
tropics of Jamaica. He left school aged 13 unable to read or write, but within two years his lyrical commen-
taries won him a strong following and, in 1979, he moved to London. His first collection Pen Rhythm was
published in 1980 by a small cooperative publisher. He attracted wider public interest through performances
at political gatherings and his many television appearances throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Zephaniah has branched out in to other literary forms, including plays and novels such as Refugee Boy
(2001). He was the first to perform with The Wailers following Bob Marley's death, and at Nelson Man-
dela's request, Zephaniah hosted the President's Two Nations concert at the Royal Albert Hall in July 1996.