BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.5//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:8722@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240509T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240509T190000 DTSTAMP:20240426T152056Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/palm-house-wowfest-a-life-of-rhy me-a-tribute-to-benjamin-zephaniah/ SUMMARY:Sefton Park Palm House: Palm House: WowFest: A Life of Rhyme: A Tri bute to Benjamin Zephaniah DESCRIPTION:\n\n\n\nA LIFE OF RHYME – A TRIBUTE TO BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH\nOn behalf of the people of Liverpool\, Writing on the Wall are proud to host a tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah\, pioneering dub poet\, lyricist\, music ian\, and revolutionary\, who passed away in December 2023\, aged 65.  Li verpool was a special place to Benjamin. In the mind 1980’s\, following a smear campaign by the S*n Newspaper\, he was offered a year-long residen cy in Liverpool 8. He said the support meant a lot to him at difficult tim e.  Benjamin was a regular guest at WoWFEST. He appeared alongside Levi T afari and Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze in a celebration of Dub poetry called ‘Inna Liverpool with Friends’\, delivered an unforgettable ‘Rebel Ra nt’ in St George’s Hall Concert Room\; brought his band\, The Revoluti onary Minds to District for a high energy performance as part of WoW’s B lack History Month celebrations\, and launched his autobiography during W oWFEST at the Philharmonic Hall. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBenjamin was often d escribed as the ‘People’s Poet’\, a title earned through his brillia nt poetry\, his energy and connections he made wherever he went. He brough t poetry down from the ivory towers\, making it accessible to all. He beca me a household name\, appearing on talk shows often as a political comment or\, making his own TV programmes\, and playing a preacher in the Peaky Bl inders series. Popularity did not compromise his principles and he continu ed to speak truth to power\, calling for social justice whether it be for Palestine\, victims of racism\, or the future of the planet. \n\nThis tri bute to Benjamin will be hosted by Co-Director Madeline Heneghan and led b y Citizen of Honour\, poet Levi Tafari\, Benjamin’s friend and collabora tor over many decades. Michael Rosen\, one of the nation’s most loved ch ildren’s author and poet\, will join us to celebrate Benjamin’s life. There will be performances from a younger generation of Liverpool poets\, including Amina Atiq\, Blue Saint\, and Claire Beerjeraz\, who are part of Benjamin’s immeasurable legacy.  \n\nMichael Rosen is one of Britain ’s best loved writers and performance poets for children and adults. His first degree in English Literature and Language was from Wadham College\, Oxford and he went on to study for an MA at the University of Reading and a PhD at the former University of North London\, now London Metropolitan. He is currently Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths\, Univ ersity of London where he co-devised and teaches critical approaches to re ading on an MA in Children’s Literature\, having done the same at Birkbe ck\, University of London. He has taught on MA courses in universities sin ce 1994. He was the Children’s Laureate from 2007-2009 and has published over 200 books for children and adults\, including the recent bestseller  Many Different Kinds of Love and On The Move. \n\nLevi Tafari – Live rpool-born Levi Tafari is the author of three poetry collections: Duboetr y (1987)\, Liverpool Experience (1989)\, and Rhyme Don’t Pay (1998) . His plays have been performed at the Unity Theatre and the Playhouse in Liverpool\, as well as at the Blackheath Theatre in Stafford. He has also worked on educational projects running creative writing workshops with ma ny different groups. He has also appeared in many television programmes in cluding Blue Peter and Grange Hill\, and made a well-received film abou t Rastafarianism for BBC television’s Everyman programme entitled The Road to Zion. \n\nAmina Atiq is a published poet\, performance artist\, practitioner and award-winning community activist\, and anti-racism advis or for Curious Minds &\; Liverpool Everyman &\; Playhouse Theatres. She was a BBC Words First Finalist and awarded Steve Biko Young Achievers\ ; she was featured in 100 Inspirational Women of Merseyside and Future Lis t 2022 of Northern Woman awards. She is poet in residence at University Co llege of London &\; Norfolk Ponds Project\, working on the secret Life of Ponds and of Museum of Colour\, These Things Matter Exhibition. She is also Artist fellow of Metal Culture\, producing a new upcoming creative ca mpaign\, HijabSpeaks. In 2020 she produced a short documentary\, Unheard V oices\, capturing the stories of Yemeni shopkeepers. \n\nBlue Saint is a Congolese and British\, Liverpool-based rapper\, singer-songwriter\, desi gner\, poet\, spoken word artist and producer who blends hip-hop\, RnB and soul to create a style that is both introspective and infectious. His hon est and vulnerable lyrics\, paired with his smooth delivery\, have garnere d him a dedicated following in Liverpool and beyond.  \n\nClaire Beerjer az is a Liverpool based free-lance Spoken Word Artist and Creative Psycho therapist. She has worked with the many local Liverpool organisations on m ultiple pieces of work\, giving her the opportunity to perform at the Ever yman Theatre\, Hope Street Theatre and Tate Liverpool. Claire is passionat e about combining therapy with expressive arts and works with local charit y YPAS as a Creative Children’s Psychological Therapist.  \n\nPalm Hou se\, Sefton Park  \n\nLiverpool L17 1AP \n\n7pm \n\nPay what you can afford. Suggested donation £5 \n\nProceeds from this event will be donat ed to the Vegan Society and Inquest. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nEVENT DETAILS\nDate:  May 9\, 2024\nTime: 7:00 pm\n\n\n\n\n\n BUY TICKETS\n\n\n\n\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2024/04/BZ-1.png LOCATION:Sefton Park Palm House\, Sefton Park Palm House\, Liverpool\, L17 1AP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom GEO:53.381306;-2.935231 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Sefton Park Palm House\, Li verpool\, L17 1AP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE= Sefton Park Palm House:geo:53.381306,-2.935231 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20240331T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR