Best books… Benjamin Zephaniah
The poet Benjamin Zephaniah picks his favourite books. He has curated We Are All Human, a free exhibition of art by prisoners from the 2016 Koestler Awards, which is showing at London’s Southbank Centre until 13 November
Prisonomics: Behind Bars in Britain’s Failing Prisons
by Vicky Pryce, 2013 (Biteback £16.99). Economist Vicky Pryce used her time in jail to think about the cost of prison. From an ethical point of view, I sense a lot of people are locked up when they shouldn’t be. Pryce gives the economic reasons why they shouldn’t be put away.
Angry White People: Coming Face-to-face with
the British Far Right by Hsiao-hung Pai, 2016 (Zed Books £12.99). I wrote the foreword to this book which looks at the development of British racist organisations. It is so relevant today post Brexit as we have just had lots of
angry white people expressing their views about Europe as well as a rise in racist attacks – which I have experienced myself recently.
A Book of Nonsense by Mervyn Peake, 1972 (Peter Owen £9.99). When I was a child I didn’t read and I didn’t have any books read to me. But I loved poetry and I loved rhyming poetry. I always felt it had to be full of meaning but this book showed me that rhyming can make no sense and still be beautiful. The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery by Marjorie Spiegel, 1988 (out of print). I have a lot of friends who are into human rights
who don’t consider animal rights. And I have a lot of friends who are into animal rights who forget about human rights. This book makes the connection between the two. I am passionate about animal and human rights and this is one of the few books that unites my two passions.
Red Shelley by Paul Foot, 1980 (out of print). I spent a long time believing that Shelley was a dead white poet with nothing to say to me, but then I discovered that he was a rather revolutionary chap with a crazy sex life. What I have learnt from reading this is that today Shelley would have probably been a hip-hop artist or in an indie band.