Book description
Benjamin Zephaniah decides he has had enough of London. So he takes off
to China, specifically to Shaolin Temple, the spiritual home of martial
arts and kung fu. Benjamin wants to take on an instructor who will teach
him more about kung fu. But finding a good instructor is difficult, and
the instructor he does finally locate is not only called 'Iron Breath'
but also proves a very hard taskmaster . . .
An extraordinary snapshot of Benjamin's life plus Benjamin's own views
on politics, Buddhism, kung fu, vegans and much else. But this is also a
fascinating insight into China itself, and the huge variety of people
who Benjamin meets - who react very differently to the appearance of a
Rasta in their midst: on occasions even fainting or bowing to Benjamin,
thinking he is a god! Benjamin Zephaniah is probably one of the most
high-profile international authors writing today, with an enormous
breadth of appeal, equally popular with both adults and children. Most
well known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults
and ground-breaking performance poetry for children, Benjamin also has
his own rap/reggae band, and has appeared on Desert Island Discs. He is
in constant demand internationally to perform his work: he is (he
thinks) Nelson Mandela's favourite poet, and is the only Rastafarian
poet to be shortlisted for the Chairs of Poetry for both Oxford and
Cambridge University. His previous novels for Bloomsbury are Face
, Refugee Boy
, Gangsta Rap
and Teacher's Dead
. He has also edited an anthology of poems, The Bloomsbury Book of
Love Poems
.
