This chapter explores how the speaker's mother played a significant role in their journey of finding their voice in poetry through the strong oral tradition in Jamaica and the use of ANSI stories to teach life lessons.
The poet, writer and activist Benjamin Zephaniah sadly passed away this week, aged 65. In this archive discussion from 2019, journalist Samira Ahmed speaks with Zephaniah about his life's work and the journey that took him from his youth in Birmingham to becoming one of the UK's most distinct and relevant voices harnessing the power of poetry and the spoken word.