This year's Baggs Memorial lecture on the theme of Happiness will be delivered by poet, Dr Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah was born and raised in Birmingham, often calling Handsworth the Jamaican capital of Europe. His first poetry collection, Pen Rhythm, was published in 1980, followed by The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985), and Rasta Time in Palestine (1990). He has been Writer in Residence at the Africa Arts Collective in Liverpool and Creative Artist in Residence at Cambridge University. His first collection of poetry for children, Talking Turkeys, went into emergency reprint after six weeks. He has also written novels for teenagers, including, Face (1999), described by the author as a story of 'facial discrimination'. In 2003 he famously rejected an invitation to the palace to receive an OBE saying that the 'Empire' was reminiscent of brutality and a thousand years of slavery in a subsequent Guardian article.
To reserve tickets for this event please email events@contacts.bham.ac.uk or telephone 0121 414 8130 stating the number of tickets you require (maximum of five per person) and your contact address.
Starts: 05 Jul 2010 Start Time: 6.30pm Venue: University of Birmingham, Great Hall Cost: Free
Contact: Events@contacts.bham.ac.uk, Tel 0121 414 8130
