#michael rosen

[boysappetit]

😍

#zane phillips #froy gutierrez #michael rosen

[denimbex1986]

'Writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.

A statement posted on his Instagram account confirmed he died in the early hours of Thursday.

The statement said Zephaniah's wife "was with him throughout and was by his side when he passed".

"We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news," it added.

Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse. He was dyslexic and left school aged 13, unable to read or write.

He moved to London aged 22 and published his first book, Pen Rhythm.

His early work used dub poetry, a Jamaican style of work that has evolved into the music genre of the same name, and he would also perform with the group The Benjamin Zephaniah Band.

As Zephaniah's profile grew, he became a familiar face on television and was credited with bringing Dub Poetry into British living rooms.

He also wrote five novels as well as poetry for children, and his first book for younger readers, Talking Turkeys, was a huge success upon its publication in 1994.

On top of his writing work, Zephaniah was an actor and appeared in the BBC drama series Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022.

He played Jeremiah "Jimmy" Jesus, appearing in 14 episodes across the six series.

Zephaniah famously rejected an OBE in 2003 due to the association of such an honour with the British Empire and its history of slavery.

"I've been fighting against empire all my life, fighting against slavery and colonialism all my life," he told The Big Narstie Show in 2020.

"I've been writing to connect with people, not to impress governments and monarchy. So I could I then accept an honour that puts the word Empire on to my name? That would be hypocritical.

He often spoke out about issues such as racial abuse and education.

When he was younger, Zephaniah served a prison sentence for burglary and received a criminal record.

In 1982, Zephaniah released an album called Rasta, which featured the Wailers' first recording since the death of Bob Marley.

It also included a tribute to the then-political prisoner Nelson Mandela, who would later become South African president.

In an interview in 2005, Zephaniah said growing up in a violent household led to him assuming that was the norm.

He recalled: "I once asked a friend of mine, 'What do you do when your dad beats your mum?' And he went: 'He doesn't.'

"I said, 'Ah, you come from one of those, like, feminist houses. So, what do you do when your mum beats your dad?'"

In 2012, he was chosen to guest edit an edition of BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Zephaniah was nominated for autobiography of the year at the National Book Awards for his work, The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah, which was also shortlisted for the Costa Book Award in 2018.

During a Covid-19 lockdown, Zephaniah recited one of his poems in a video for the Hay Festival.

"Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator. He gave the world so much," the statement announcing his death said.

"Through an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy."

A statement from the Black Writers' guild, which Zephaniah helped establish, said: "Our family of writers is in mourning at the loss of a deeply valued friend and a titan of British literature. Benjamin was a man of integrity and an example of how to live your values."

Others paying tribute included author Michael Rosen, who said: "I'm devastated. I admired him, respected him, learnt from him, loved him. Love and condolences to the family and to all who loved him too."

Actress Adjoa Andoh posted: "We have lost a Titan today. Benjamin Zephaniah. Beautiful Poet, Professor, Advocate for love and humanity in all things. Heartbroken. Rest In Your Power - our brother."

Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy said in a statement: "Benjamin was a truly gifted and beautiful human being.

"A generational poet, writer, musician and activist. A proud Brummie and a Peaky Blinder. I'm so saddened by this news."

Broadcaster Trevor Nelson said: "So sad to hear about the passing of Benjamin Zephaniah. Too young, too soon, he had a lot more to give. He was a unique talent."

Singer-songwriter and musician Billy Bragg added: "Very sorry to hear this news. Benjamin Zephaniah was our radical poet laureate. Rest in power, my friend."

Comedian, actor and writer Lenny Henry said: "I was saddened to learn of the passing of my friend Benjamin Zephaniah. His passion for poetry, his advocacy for education for all was tireless."

Writer Nels Abbey said: "To call this crushing news is a massive understatement. He was far too young, far too brilliant and still had so much to offer. A loss we'll never recover from."

The X/Twitter account for Premier League football club Aston Villa, whom Zephaniah supported said everyone at the club was "deeply saddened" by the news.

"Named as one of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008, Benjamin was a lifelong Aston Villa fan and had served as an ambassador for the AVFCFoundation. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."'

#Benjamin Zephaniah #The Benjamin Zephaniah Band #Peaky Blinders #Cillian Murphy #Adjoa Andoh #Michael Rosen #Black Writers Guild #Hay Festival #The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah #Jeremiah “Jimmy” Jesus #Rasta #Pen Rhythm #Aston Villa #Nels Abbey #Lenny Henry #Billy Bragg #Trevor Nelson

[probablyasocialecologist]

I’ve met some of the nurses since who were in my ward. Many have found it incredibly difficult. They are going through a form of PTSD, suffering nightmares from the stress of the pandemic. We have to be careful using military metaphors, but it was much like the horrors that people in wartime face. They faced enormous amounts of death on a daily basis. There were only eleven bays in my ward; it was expanded to twenty-four in the same space. The nurses were going between two, three, four patients sometimes. They say that in one of the letters. And if you leave an intensive care patient, you might be leaving them at the moment they’re experiencing a crisis, but someone else’s crisis is more critical. Some of my fellow patients were copping it because of clotting, and the hospitals were only just discovering that blood clots were forming because of Covid. There were people dying of suffocation due to a cytoplasm storm, a powerful immune reaction. They just couldn’t get the air into them quickly enough. It was shocking, sometimes horrific. And these medical workers are often young people, so many of them were between 22 and 30. It was an enormous burden. I still don’t think we have found a national means to deal with that trauma. So many died, so many people, millions in fact, lost loved ones. And then there’s all of those who worked through it. Nobody has seen fit to mark it properly, apart from one small ceremony which I took part in at Westminster Abbey. They’re nervous about creating a national day or a national place. There’s an improvised place, hurrah for that, but there was no official recognition. I don’t think the monarchy or the cabinet were there, certainly no leading figures. The representatives of the major religions were [there], to their credit. If it had been a war in which 200,000 died, there would have been recognition.

#michael rosen #NHS #covid19 #coronavirus

[cyber-corp]

My dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “Michael Rosen” you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

Me: yeah whatever I don’t feel shit

5 minutes later: Dude I swear I saw the Skyfoogle escape over at the tent round our way

My buddy Harrybo pacing: The Lollipop Lady is lying to us

#shitpost #michael rosen #ytp #is this anything #gecko boy

[ceevee5]

#fascism #anti fascist #far right #uk politics #us politics #michael rosen

[frickyesforumweapons]

#reaction image #forum weapon #michael rosen #queue

[bellossom]

#Alexei Sayle #Michael Rosen

[7khz]

Remember, the blank page is your friend: it doesn't laugh at you, it doesn't sneer at you. It doesn't say that you're no good. It doesn't say, 'Who do you think you are, kidding yourself you can write?' It just takes what you write. It's just there for you. And when you write on the blank page, what you've written is there for you to look at and to think about. If you want to, you can then share it.

some advice for creating, from 'Getting Better' by Michael Rosen. make the blank page your friend! :')

#michael rosen #writers on tumblr #poets on tumblr #bookblr #quote #childrens literature #memoir #writing advice #creative advice #art advice #the blank page is your friend!!! ive just never seen anyone say that before. maybe the blank page is not your enemy but. its my friend....

[theevilemster]

For you Asterix Fandom!

(Michael Rosen describes Asterix films - really my own opinions on them ^^ Enjoy!)

#asterix #video #meme #michael rosen

[derangedrhythms]

Famously, poetry is good at making the familiar unfamiliar and the unfamiliar familiar.

Michael Rosen, Centres of Cataclysm: Celebrating Fifty Years of Modern Poetry in Translation; from ‘A Conversation on Children's Poetry’

#michael rosen #centres of cataclysm #other writing #on poetry

[hbcsource]

@hayfestival: Rhymes, songs, riddles and tongue twisters... An all-star cast offers A Nursery Rhyme for Every Night of the Year in our free film of the week on #HayPlayer now, introduced by curator Allie Esiri. Watch via the link in our bio.

#helena bonham carter #samuel west #olivia williams #allie esiri #tony robinson #michael rosen #jb gill #appearances #2023 #appearances: 2023 #hay festival 2023

[codydbuni-blog]

[SPOILER WARNING!] Michael Rosen describes grumpuses.

FYI The part featuring Eggabell is made out of concern about her regarding the game’s events.

#bugsnax #filbo fiddlepie #beffica winklesnoot #wambus troubleham #triffany lottablog #gramble gigglefunny #wiggle wigglebottom #cromdo face #chandlo funkbun #snorpington fizzlebean #floofty fizzlebean #shelda woolfbag #eggabell batternugget #elizabert megafig #clumby clumbernut #michael rosen

[top-the-cat]

Michael Rosen’s poem:

Out of bedrooms and wards

long lines of the dead walk towards you

asking you,

‘Who were you to decide

that our innings was over?

Who gave you the umpire’s white coat

and upraised finger?’

Did you think we would never speak

from the graves you gave us?

#Michael Rosen #covid enquiry #poem #uk politics #fuvk the tory scum

[nathandarkson984]

I so happened to rotoscope Michael Rosen in After Effects CS6.

Go crazy.

#youtube poop #michael rosen #ytp #ytpmv #shitpost #lol xD

[goodnessgraciousgal]

—Michael Rosen

#Michael Rosen #quotes #quote of the night #picture books #i don’t want to talk about it #silence #my own #ownership #head full of thoughts #i own my thoughts #art #mine #midnight mood #it shall pass