ABSTRACT
Zephaniah was born in 1958 and raised in Birmingham, England. His poetry is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica. His first real public performance was in church when he was ten years old. By the time he was fifteen he had developed a strong following and gained a reputation as a young poet who was capable of speaking on local and international issues. At the age of twentytwo, he headed south to London to have his first poetry book, Pen Rhythm, published.
