Birmingham-born performance poet, musician, professor, novelist and playwright Benjamin Zephaniah was ‘a hero to millions’ and a much-loved and respected performer at the Festival, counting among his many awards and accolades the Hay Festival Medal for poetry in 2021.

We assemble in memory of his life and his work. Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho, Welsh poet and Professor at Aberystwyth University’s Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies Mererid Hopwood, poet, playwright and author of Living by Troubled Waters Roy McFarlane and friends together, through reading works by Benjamin Zephaniah and their own works in response, create a tribute to this exceptional and much-missed poet.