Showing results by narrator "Benjamin Zephaniah" in All Categories

In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary - widely used in schools around the world - was published, a sharp-eyed reader soon noticed that around 40 common words concerning nature had been dropped. Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a “spell book” that will conjure back 20 of these lost words and the beings they name, from acorn to wren.

In the early 1980s, when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about unemployment, homelessness and the National Front, Benjamin’s poetry could be heard at demonstrations, outside police stations and on the dance floor. His mission was to take poetry everywhere and to popularise it by reaching people who didn’t read books. His poetry was political, musical, radical and relevant. By the early 1990s, Benjamin had performed on every continent in the world (a feat which he achieved in only one year), and he hasn’t stopped performing and touring since.

Introduced by Sir Richard Eyre, these four iconic productions, dramatised with star casts, bring Shakespeare’s gripping histories to life in all their rich complexity.

Zephaniah transformed performance poetry when he came onto the scene in the 1980s and has gone on to convey political and societal messages through his work. He’s also written numerous novels, children’s books and plays as well as releasing multiple albums. A multitalented man with an uneasy childhood and mixed up teen years, he has plenty to say in his autobiography. When he came to the studio, he spoke about overcoming his shyness, writing about his mum and what the West can learn from the rest of the world about peace. 

This is the audio program to play at home over Christmas or during the car journey to see relatives. Dylan Thomas, "The Little Match Girl," and "The Nutcracker" are read by Jenny Agutter with accompanying Tchaikovsky's music - this is a must for Christmas. It contains new recordings as well as some of the finest tracks from the Naxos AudioBooks catalogue.

Shakespeare's romantic adventure is full of tyrants, incest, murder, knights, teenagers, pirates, brothels, sublime poetry, young love, a great hero, and the goddess Diana. A multicultural cast, world music, and the poet Benjamin Zephaniah give this timeless tale a contemporary twist.

Funky Turkeys is the first audio edition of Benjamin Zephaniah's poetry collection for children - playful, clever and provocative - this is performance poetry at its very best. An unconventional collection of straight-talking poems about heroes, revolutions, racism, love and animal rights, among other subjects, that will entice many new listeners to poetry. Poems in this audiobook were first published in Funky Chickens and Talking Turkeys.