--- Benjamin Zephaniah was a British poet, writer, and performer known for his powerful blend of politics, humour, and rhythm. A vegan, anarchist, and anti-racist activist, he wrote extensively on themes of oppression, resistance, and working-class life, often performing in Jamaican Patois alongside standard English. Zephaniah was a huge admirer of Percy Bysshe Shelley. His relationship with Shelley's work began poorly — a school teacher told him he was stupid for not fully understanding what he was reading. But in his early twenties, Zephaniah rediscovered Shelley through Paul Foot's *Red Shelley*, which placed Shelley's poetry in its historical context: the early 19th century, a period of profound social and political upheaval. That reframing transformed how Zephaniah read Shelley, revealing verses like *The Masque of [[Anarchy]]* not as dusty anthology pieces but as radical texts that shaped the world. ![[Benjamin Zephaniah.jpeg]] Shelley himself drowned off the coast of Italy at just 29, leaving behind a body of work that endured far beyond his short life. The parallels between the two poets — writing from outside the establishment, using verse as a vehicle for dissent — seem clear.