Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002), ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, p. 562. . is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.

Early life and education

Zephaniah was born and raised in the Handsworth district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, England, which he has called the "Jamaican capital of Europe". He is the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse."Biography"
, ''BenjaminZephaniah.com''. Retrieved 13 April 2008.Kellaway, Kate (2001)
Dread poet's society
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', 4 November 2001. A

dyslexic Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

, he attended an

approved school An approved school was a type of residential institution in the United Kingdom to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control. They were modelle ...

but left aged 13 unable to read or write. During his childhood he was given an old, manual typewriter which he says inspired him to become a writer. It is now in the collection of

Birmingham Museums Trust Birmingham Museums Trust is the largest independent charitable trust of museums in the United Kingdom. It runs nine museum sites across the city of Birmingham, including Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) and Thinktank, Birmingham Science ...

. He writes that his poetry is strongly influenced by the

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls "street politics". His first performance was in church when he was eleven, and by the age of 15, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

and Asian communities.

Larkin, Colin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the '' Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by '' The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along w ...

(1998), ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, As a young man, he received a criminal record and served a prison sentence for burglary. Tired of the limitations of being a black poet communicating with black people only, he decided to expand his audience, and headed to London at the age of 22. While living in London, Zephaniah was caught up in the 1980s race riots and experienced racism on a regular basis:

"They happened around me. Back then, racism was very in your face. There was the National Front against black and foreign people and the police were also very racist. I got stopped four times after I bought a BMW when I became successful with poetry. I kept getting stopped by the police so I sold it."

Written work and poetry

Zephaniah became actively involved in a workers' co-operative in Stratford, London, which led to the publication of his first book of poetry, ''Pen Rhythm'' (Page One Books, 1980). Three editions were published. Zephaniah has said that his mission is to fight the dead image of poetry in

academia An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, and to "take teverywhere" to people who do not read books, so he turned poetry readings into concert-like performances. His second collection of poetry, ''The Dread Affair: Collected Poems'' (1985), contained a number of poems attacking the British legal system. ''Rasta Time in Palestine'' (1990), an account of a visit to the Palestinian occupied territories, contained poetry and travelogue. Zephaniah was poet in residence at the chambers of

Michael Mansfield Michael Mansfield (born 12 October 1941) is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers. He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a Leading Silk in civil liberties and human right ...

QC, and sat in on the inquiry into Bloody Sunday and other cases, these experiences leading to his ''Too Black, Too Strong'' poetry collection (2001). ''We Are Britain!'' (2002) is a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain. Zephaniah's first book of poetry for children, called ''Talking Turkeys'' (1994), was reprinted after six weeks. In 1999, he wrote a novel for teenagers, '' Face'', the first of four novels to date. In May 2011, Zephaniah accepted a year-long position as poet-in-residence at Keats House in Hampstead, London, his first residency role for more than ten years. Accepting the role, he commented: "I don't do residencies, but Keats is different. He's a one-off, and he has always been one of my favourite poets." In 2016, Zephaniah wrote the foreword to ''Angry White People: Coming face-to-face with the British far right'' by Hsiao-Hung Pai.

Acting and television

Zephaniah has made minor appearances in several TV programmes in the 1980s and 1990s, including ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' (1994), '' The Comic Strip Presents...'' (1994) and ''Crucial Tales'' (1996). In 1990, he appeared in the film ''Farendj'', directed by Sabine Prenczina and starring

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

. Between 2013 and 2022, Zephaniah played the role of preacher Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus in BBC drama '' Peaky Blinders'', appearing in 14 episodes across the 6 series. In 2020, he appeared as a panellist on the BBC television show '' QI'', on the episode "Roaming".

Music

In 1982, Zephaniah released the album ''Rasta'', which featured the Wailers' first recording since the death of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

as well as a tribute to the political prisoner (later to become South African president)

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

. The album gained him international prestige and topped the

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

n pop charts. It was because of this recording that he was introduced to Mandela, and in 1996, Mandela requested that Zephaniah host the president's Two Nations Concert at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London.

Views

Animal rights and veganism

Zephaniah became a vegan at the age of 13 when he read poems about "shimmering fish floating in an underwater paradise, and birds flying free in the clear blue sky". Zephaniah is an honorary patron of The Vegan Society, Viva! (Vegetarians' International Voice for Animals), and EVOLVE! Campaigns, and is an

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

advocate. In 2004, he wrote the foreword to

Keith Mann Keith Mann is a British animal rights campaigner and direct action activist who acted as a spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), and was alleged by police in 2005 to be a ringleader for the ALF. He was imprisoned twice, and is the a ...

's book ''From Dusk 'til Dawn: An insider's view of the growth of the Animal Liberation Movement'', a book about the

Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is an international, leaderless, decentralized political and social resistance movement that engages in and promotes non-violent direct action in protest against incidents of animal cruelty. It originated in th ...

. In August 2007, he announced that he would be launching the Animal Liberation Project, alongside

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities have ...

. In February 2001, Zephaniah published ''The Little Book of Vegan Poems''.

Anti-racism activism

Zephaniah has spoken extensively about his personal experiences of anti-Black racism in Britain and has incorporated his experiences in much of his written work. In 2012, Zephaniah has worked with anti-racism organisation Newham Monitoring Project, with whom he made a video, and Tower Hamlets Summer University about the impact of Olympic policing on black communities.

Other activism

In 2003, Zephaniah was offered appointment as an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, but publicly rejected the honour. In a subsequent article for ''

'' he elaborated upon his reaction to learning about being considered for the award and his reasons for rejecting it: "Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought. I get angry when I hear that word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised... Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire."Zephaniah, Benjamin
"'Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought'"
''The Guardian'', 27 November 2003. Zephaniah has spoken in favour of a British Republic and the dis-establishment of the crown. In 2015 he called for Welsh and Cornish to be taught in English schools, saying: "Hindi, Chinese and French are taught

n schools N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

so why not Welsh? And why not Cornish? They're part of our culture." In 2012, Zephaniah joined Amnesty International in speaking out against

homophobia in Jamaica Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) persons in Jamaica face legal and social issues not experienced by non-LGBT people. Sexual intercourse between same-sex partners is legally punishable by imprisonment.Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nati ...

presented by the Koestler Trust which exhibited art works by prisoners, detainees and ex-offenders. Zephaniah is a supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and has joined demonstrations calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, describing the activism as the "Anti Apartheid movement". He is also a supporter of the BDS (

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...

) movement.

Political views

Zephaniah self-identifies as an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

. He appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011. In a 2017 interview, commenting on the ongoing

Brexit negotiations Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms for Brexit, the planned withdrawal of the UK from the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of the United ...

, Zephaniah stated that "For left-wing reasons, I think we should leave the EU but the way that we're leaving is completely wrong". In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Zephaniah signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...

's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."

Achievements

Zephaniah won the BBC Young Playwright's Award. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of North London (in 1998), the

University of Central England , mottoeng = "Do what you are doing; attend to your business" , established = 1992—gained university status1971—City of Birmingham Polytechnic1843— Birmingham College of Art , type = Public , affiliation ...

(in 1999),

Staffordshire University , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

(in 2001),

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough P ...

(in 2003), the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

and the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Augu ...

(in 2006). On 17 July 2008, Zephaniah received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

. He was listed at 48 in ''

'' list of 50 greatest postwar writers.Benjamin Zephaniah, The 50 greatest postwar writers: 48
TimesOnline UK He has released several albums of original music. He was awarded Best Original Song in the Hancocks 2008, Talkawhile Awards for Folk Music (as voted by members of Talkawhile.co.uk) for his version of ''

Tam Lyn Tam (or Tamas) Lin (also called Tamlane, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam Lyn, or Tam Lane) is a character in a legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. It is also associated with a reel of the same name, also ...

Retold'' recorded with The Imagined Village. He collected the Award live at

The Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix of ...

on 2 August 2008 and described himself as a "Rasta Folkie".

Personal life

Zephaniah lived for many years in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

but in 2008 began dividing his time between a village near Spalding, Lincolnshire and

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in China. He is a keen language learner and has studied Mandarin Chinese for over a decade. He was married for twelve years to Amina, a theatre administrator, whom he divorced in 2001. In May 2018, in an interview of BBC Radio Five Live, Zephaniah admitted that he had been violent to a former partner, confessing to having hit her. During the admission, he said:

"The way I treated some of my girlfriends was terrible. At one point I was violent. I was never like one of these persons who have a girlfriend, who'd constantly beat them, but I could lose my temper sometimes." "There was one girlfriend that I had, and I actually hit her a couple of times, and as I got older I really regretted it. It burned my conscience so badly. It really ate at me, you know. And I'm a meditator. It got in the way of my meditation."

Zephaniah's family were Christian but he became a

Rastafari Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

at a young age. He gave up smoking

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

in his thirties. He is a supporter of Aston Villa F.C. and is the patron for an Aston Villa supporters' website.

Books

Poetry

* ''Pen Rhythm'' (1980) * ''The Dread Affair: Collected Poems'' (1985), Arena * ''City Psalms'' (1992),

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumb ...

* ''Inna Liverpool'' (1992), AK Press * ''Talking Turkeys'' (1994),

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs ...

* ''Propa Propaganda'' (1996), Bloodaxe Books * ''Funky Chickens'' (1997), Puffin * ''School's Out: Poems Not for School'' (1997), AK Press * ''Funky Turkeys (Audiobook)'' (1999), AB hntj * ''White Comedy'' (Unknown) * ''Wicked World!'' (2000), Puffin * ''Too Black, Too Strong'' (2001), Bloodaxe Books * ''The Little Book of Vegan Poems'' (2001), AK Press * ''Reggae Head'' (Audiobook), 57 Productions

Novels

* '' Face'' (1999), Bloomsbury (published in children's and adult editions) * ''

Refugee Boy ''Refugee Boy'' is a teen novel written by Benjamin Zephaniah. It is a book about Alem Kelo, a 14-year-old refugee from Ethiopia and Eritrea. It was first published by Bloomsbury on 28 August 2001 . The novel was the recipient of the 2002 Ports ...

'' (2001), Bloomsbury * ''Gangsta Rap'' (2004), Bloomsbury * ''Teacher's Dead'' (2007), Bloomsbury * ''Terror Kid'' (2014), Bloomsbury

Biographies

* ''We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me'' (2022), a biography of Mona Baptiste written by Zephaniah and illustrated by Onyinye Iwu.

Children's books

* ''We are Britain'' (2002),

Frances Lincoln Publishers Frances Elisabeth Rosemary Lincoln (20 March 1945 – 26 February 2001) was an English independent publisher of illustrated books. She published under her own name and the company went on to become Frances Lincoln Publishers. In 1995, Lincoln ...

* ''Primary Rhyming Dictionary'' (2004), Chambers Harrap * ''J is for Jamaica'' (2006), Frances Lincoln * ''My Story'' (2011), Collins * ''When I Grow Up'' (2011), Frances Lincoln

Other

* ''Kung Fu Trip'' (2011), Bloomsbury * ''The Life And Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah'' (2018), Simon & Schuster

Plays

* ''Playing the Right Tune'' (1985) * ''Job Rocking'' (1987). Published in ''Black Plays: 2'', ed. Yvonne Brewster, Methuen Drama, 1989. * ''Delirium'' (1987) * ''Streetwise'' (1990) * ''Mickey Tekka'' (1991) * ''Listen to Your Parents'' (included in ''Theatre Centre: Plays for Young People – Celebrating 50 Years of Theatre Centre'' (2003) Aurora Metro, also published by Longman, 2007) * ''Face: The Play'' (with Richard Conlon)

Acting roles

* ''

Didn't You Kill My Brother? "Didn't You Kill My Brother?" is an episode of '' The Comic Strip Presents...'', a British television comedy. "Didn't You Kill My Brother" premiered on Channel 4 on Saturday 19 March 1988 at 10:50 p.m. CBS Records released the theme song, als ...

'' (1987) – Rufus * ''Farendj'' (1989) – Moses * ''Dread Poets' Society'' (1992) – Andy Wilson * ''Truth or Dairy'' (1994) – The Vegan Society (UK) * ''Crucial Tales'' (1996) – Richard's father * ''Making the Connection'' (2010) – Environment Films / The Vegan Society (UK) * '' Peaky Blinders'' (2013–2022) – Jeremiah Jesus

Discography

Albums

* ''Rasta'' (1982) Upright (reissued 1989) Workers Playtime ( UK Indie #22)Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, * ''Us An Dem'' (1990)

Island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

* ''Back to Roots'' (1995) Acid Jazz * ''Belly of De Beast'' (1996)

Ariwa Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana) is a Guyanese-born British dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading pro ...

* ''Naked'' (2005)

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...

* ''Naked & Mixed-Up'' (2006) One Little Indian (Benjamin Zephaniah Vs. Rodney-P) * ''Revolutionary Minds'' (2017) Fane Productions

Singles, EPs

* ''Dub Ranting'' EP (1982) Radical Wallpaper * "Big Boys Don't Make Girls Cry" 12-inch single (1984) Upright * "Free South Africa" (1986) * "Crisis" 12-inch single (1992) Workers Playtime

Guest appearances

* "Empire" (1995) Bomb the Bass with Zephaniah &

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...

* ''Heading for the Door'' by Back to Base (2000) MPR Records * ''Open Wide'' (2004) Dubioza kolektiv (C) & (P) Gramofon * ''Rebel'' by Toddla T (2009) 1965 Records * "Illegal" (2000) from " Himawari" by Swayzak * "Theatricks" (2000) by Kinobe

References

External links

* * * * Merope Mills
"Rasta poet publicly rejects his OBE"
''

'', 27 November 2003.
Benjamin Zephaniah
– from The Black Presence in Britain
Benjamin Zephaniah on Poetry, Politics and Revolution
– video report by ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González (journalist), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, whi ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zephaniah, Benjamin 1958 births English people of Barbadian descent English people of Jamaican descent 20th-century English poets English Rastafarians People from Birmingham, West Midlands British republicans Black British musicians Black British writers British people convicted of burglary Living people English male poets 21st-century English poets 21st-century English male writers Dub poets English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights British Eurosceptics 20th-century English male writers People from Handsworth, West Midlands Acid Jazz Records artists Writers with dyslexia People with dyslexia