I’m not surprised to hear that poet Benjamin Zephaniah has turned down the offer of an OBE. I am, however, astounded that someone had the gall to ask him if he wanted one.
CNN reported his response.
Zephaniah said that when he received a letter from the UK prime minister's office saying Tony Blair intended to recommend his name to the queen in the New Year's honors list, he thought: "OBE, me? Up yours."Good for him!
I don’t share his politics but I would have thought much less of him had he accepted the honor.
I’ve been a Zephaniah fan since the performance poetry days of the early eighties. The best of his work is both personal and political. Rich with the informalities of Jamaican English, it is rooted in a strong oral tradition and informed by harsh experience.
If you ever get a chance to see him live, don’t miss it.
Thanks to Biased BBC for the link to CNN.
Update
Saturday's Independent has a piece on Zephaniah that explains the background to his decision and describes some of the work he does for the British Council.
