Funeral of Benjamin Zephaniah to take place

The funeral of Benjamin Zephaniah will be held later after his death at the age of 65.

The pioneering writer and poet was remembered as a "titan of British literature" when he died this month.

Zephaniah passed away with his wife by his side after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, a statement said.

The poet's social media channels said a service would take place later on Thursday and asked people to plant flowers and trees to remember him.

Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, and left school unable to read or write at the age of 13.

He would go on to popularize dub poetry, publish several books and become a familiar face on television.

Tributes from across the entertainment world poured in when his death was announced on 7 December.

A social media post from his official account said Zephaniah did not like flowers without roots but asked people to consider planting their own instead.

"We recommend that if you want to, please plant something like flowers or trees anywhere you wish and name them as Benjamin Zephaniah in memory of him," the post read.

People were told they could also donate to the Vegan Society if they wished.

On top of his writing work, Zephaniah was an actor and appeared in the BBC drama series Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022.

He famously rejected an OBE in 2003 due to the association of such an honour with the British Empire and its history of slavery.

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