WRITER

Benjamin Zephaniah

1958 - 2023

Photo of Benjamin Zephaniah

Icon of person Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (né Springer; 15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008. In his work, Zephaniah drew on his lived experiences of incarceration, racism and his Jamaican heritage. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Benjamin Zephaniah has received more than 2,296,160 page views. His biography is available in 24 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 21 in 2019). Benjamin Zephaniah is the 5,332nd most popular writer (up from 5,670th in 2019), the 4,041st most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 4,903rd in 2019) and the 449th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 46.47

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 24

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 1.98

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.73

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Talking Turkeys
Fiction, Literature
Wanna be in our gang?We cause Peace,Fighters fear us,On de streetsThe very first ground-breaking children's poetry collection from street poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Playful, clever and provocative, this is performance poetry on the page at its very best.
1994
Gangsta Rap
Rap (Music), Gangs, Blacks
2004
Dread Affair (Arena Books)
1985
Refugee boy
Foster home care, Juvenile fiction, Right of Asylum
The story of a young Ethiopian boy, whose parents abandon him in London to save his life.
2001
We Are Britain
Juvenile poetry, Social life and customs, Children's poetry, English
2002
Face
Traffic accidents, Disfigured persons, Prejudices
A teenage boy's face is disfigured in an automobile accident, and he must learn to deal with the changes in his life.
1999

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Benjamin Zephaniah ranks 5,332 out of 7,302. Before him are Patrick Chamoiseau, Peter Gould, Horst Faas, Elisabeth Langgässer, Thierry Meyssan, and Sevasti Qiriazi. After him are Marie Noël, Yamabe no Akahito, David Brown, Ksenia Sobchak, Aldo Palazzeschi, and Julie Garwood.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1958, Benjamin Zephaniah ranks 298. Before him are Olivier Grouillard, Charles Berling, Ted McGinley, Arnaldo Otegi, Kevin Curren, and Choguel Kokalla Maïga. After him are Ján Kocian, Amrita Singh, Daniele Archibugi, Megan Mullally, Steve Schirripa, and Peter Baltes. Among people deceased in 2023, Benjamin Zephaniah ranks 476. Before him are Gilles Perrault, Walter Davis, Sergio Gori, Jaak Lipso, Attila Abonyi, and Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa. After him are Julie Garwood, Cindy Williams, Herb Kohl, Richard Lynn, Dick Butkus, and Kenneth McAlpine.

Others Born in 1958

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Others Deceased in 2023

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Benjamin Zephaniah ranks 4,041 out of 8,785. Before him are Dave Mackay (1934), Jonathan Sacks (1948), Constance Collier (1878), M.I.A. (1975), John Pritchard (1921), and Daisy Edgar-Jones (1998). After him are Charles Robert Cockerell (1788), Ivor Montagu (1904), Rose Leslie (1987), Kunal Nayyar (1981), Martin Shaw (1945), and Ewan MacColl (1915).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Benjamin Zephaniah ranks 449. Before him are Thomas Love Peacock (1785), Edward Carpenter (1844), R. M. Ballantyne (1825), Joanne Harris (1964), Sax Rohmer (1883), and Charles Wilkins (1749). After him are Charles Montagu Doughty (1843), Daniel Tammet (1979), Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696), Aneirin (525), Ali Smith (1962), and Richard Llewellyn (1906).

British born Writers

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