National Poetry Day: Meet Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Zephaniah is a British writer and poet who is well known for his particular style of poetry.

He often performs his poems to music, or a beat, that draws on the rhythms of reggae.

He was 10 when he gave his first performance. Even though he dropped out of school at 13, he has been very successful, in 2008 he was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers.

Zephaniah writes about things that he is passionate about like politics and society. His message to people thinking of taking up poetry is "You are important and me ,and the world, need to hear your voice".