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'The Life and Rhymes has a performative quality reminiscent of Zephaniah’s poetry – honest, unshowy and ultimately unthreatening. It matches the man.'
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'Vivid, frank and to the point, yet bristling with compassion, this is a rousing romp through a life less ordinary and a timely reminder of art’s redemptive force.'
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Compelling and inspiring’
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'His singular career has spanned poetry, music and activism, with detours into acting and academia. And he’s really lived a life less ordinary – from teenage jailbird to celebrity role model, embraced by the British Establishment, even if he hasn’t always reciprocated. His scepticism about the necessity of his memoir, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, is unfounded.'
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This is a beautifully penned and highly entertaining account of an intriguing life, opening us up not just to Zephaniah's story but to a wide range of topics arising out of it...tackled with down-to-earth honesty and insight, not to mention an element of gentle humour and self-effacement.’
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'The people’s laureate'
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A celebration of a truly extraordinary life story which remarks upon the power of poetry and the importance of pushing boundaries with the arts.’
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'Retaining a humility and humour that belie his extraordinary rise from street gang to cultural touchstone…Zephaniah is one of the rare voices that manages to remain determinedly outside the Establishment (he famously turned down an OBE) yet is embraced by it...a riveting read worthy of a Netflix drama.'
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'Zephaniah pulls no punches when it comes to talking about the racism that has shaped his life or the mischief he got up to in response to it.'
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