Young and dyslexic? You've got it going on - Benjamin Zephaniah
Published in The Guardian, Friday 2 October 2015
As a child I suffered, but learned to turn dyslexia to my advantage, to see the world
more creatively. We are the architects, we are the designers.
[1]
I'm of the generation where teachers didn't know what dyslexia was.
The big problem
with the education system then was that there was no compassion, no understanding
and no humanity.
I don't look back and feel angry with the teachers.
The ones who
wanted to have an individual approach weren't allowed to.
The idea of being kind and
thoughtful and listening to problems just wasn't done: the past is a different kind of
country.
[2]
At school my ideas always contradicted the teachers'.
I remember one teacher saying
that human beings sleep for one-third of their life and I put my hand up and said, "If
there's a God isn't that a design fault? If you've built something, you want efficiency. If I
was God I would have designed sleep so we could stay awake. Then good people could
do one-third more good in the world."
[3]
The teacher said, "Shut up, stupid boy. Bad people would do one-third more bad."
I
thought I'd put in a good idea. I was just being creative. She also had a point, but the
thing was, she called me stupid for even thinking about it.
[4]
I remember a teacher talking about Africa and the 'local savages' and I would say, "Who
are you to talk about savages?"
She would say, "How dare you challenge me?" – and
that would get me into trouble.
[5]
Once, when I was finding it difficult to engage with writing and had asked for some help,
a teacher said, "It's all right. We can't all be intelligent, but you'll end up being a good
sportsperson, so why don't you go outside and play some football?"
I thought, "Oh great",
but now I realise he was stereotyping me.
[6]
I had poems in my head even then, and when I was 10 or 11 my sister wrote some of
them down for me.
When I was 13 I could read very basically but it would be such hard
work that I would give up.
I thought that so long as you could read how much the
banknote was worth, you knew enough or you could ask a mate.
[7]
I got thrown out of a lot of schools, the last one at 13.
I was expelled partly because of
arguing with teachers on an intellectual level and partly for being a rude boy and
fighting.
I didn't stab anybody, but I did take revenge on a teacher once. I stole his car
and drove it into his front garden.
I remember him telling us the Nazis weren't that bad.
He could say that in the classroom.
When I was in
1
borstal
I used to do this thing of
looking at people I didn't want to be like. I saw a guy who spent all his time sitting
stooped over and I thought, "I don't want to be like that," so I learned to sit with a
straight back. Being observant helped me make the right choices.
[8]
A high percentage of the prison population are dyslexic, and a high percentage of the
architect population.
If you look at the statistics, I should be in prison: a black man
brought up on the wrong side of town whose family fell apart, in trouble with the police
when I was a kid, unable to read and write, with no qualifications and, on top of that,
dyslexic.
But I think staying out of prison is about conquering your fears and finding your
path in life.
[9]
When I go into prisons to talk to people I see men and women who, in intelligence and
other qualities, are the same as me.
But opportunities opened for me and they missed
theirs, didn't notice them or didn't take them.
[10]
I never thought I was stupid. I didn't have that struggle.
If I have someone in front of
me who doesn't have a problem reading and writing telling me that black people are
savages I just think, "I'm not stupid – you're the one who's stupid."
I just had self-belief.
[11]
For my first book I told my poems to my girlfriend, who wrote them down for me.
It
really took off, especially within the black community.
I wrote 'wid luv' for 'with love'.
People didn't think they were dyslexic poems, they just thought I wrote phonetically.
[12]
At 21 I went to an adult education class in London to learn to read and write.
The
teacher told me, "You are dyslexic," and I was like, "Do I need an operation?"
She
explained to me what it meant and I suddenly thought, "Ah, I get it. I thought I was
going crazy."
[13]
I wrote more poetry, novels for teenagers, plays, other books and recorded music.
I take
poetry to people who do not read poetry.
Still now, when I'm writing the word 'knot', I
have to stop and think, "How do I write that?" I have to draw something to let me
know what the word is to come back to it later.
If I can't spell 'question' I just put a
question mark and come back to it later.
[14]
When I look at a book, the first thing I see is the size of it, and I know that's what it's
like for a lot of young people who find reading tough.
When Brunel University offered me
the job of professor of poetry and creative writing, I knew my students would be
officially more educated than me.
I tell them, "You can do this course and get the right
grade because you have a good memory – but if you don't have passion, creativity,
individuality, there's no point."
In my life now, I find that people accommodate my
dyslexia.
I can perform my poetry because it doesn't have to be word perfect, but I
never read one of my novels in public. When I go to literary festivals I always get an
actor to read it out for me. Otherwise all my energy goes into reading the book and the
mood is lost.
[15]
If someone can't understand dyslexia it's their problem.
In the same way, if someone
oppresses me because of my race I don't sit down and think, "How can I become white?"
It's not my problem, it's theirs and they are the ones who have to come to terms with it.
If you're dyslexic and you feel there's something holding you back, just remember: it's
not you.
In many ways being dyslexic is a natural way to be.
[16]
What's unnatural is the way we read and write.
If you look at a pictorial language like
Chinese, you can see the word for a woman because the character looks like a woman.
The word for a house looks like a house.
It is a strange step to go from that to a squiggle
that represents a sound.
[17]
So don't be heavy on yourself.
And if you are a parent of someone with dyslexia don't
think of it as a defect.
Dyslexia is not a measure of intelligence: you may have a genius
on your hands.
Having dyslexia can make you creative. If you want to construct a
sentence and can't find the word you are searching for, you have to think of a way to
write round it. This requires being creative and so your 'creativity muscle' gets bigger.
[18]
Kids come up to me and say, "I'm dyslexic too,"
and I say to them, "Use it to your
advantage, see the world differently. Us dyslexic people, we've got it going on – we are
the architects. We are the designers."
It's like these kids are proud to be like me and if
that helps them, that is great.
I didn't have that as a child.
I say to them, "Bloody non-dyslexics ... who do they think they are?"
Overall PAVLS Analysis
Click each element below to explore how Zephaniah uses these techniques throughout the article
P
Purpose
A
Audience
V
Voice
L
Language
S
Structure
Purpose - Why Zephaniah Wrote This
Zephaniah's purposes evolve through the article:
To expose educational failings:
"Teachers didn't know what dyslexia was" - Shows systemic ignorance
To reframe dyslexia positively:
"Dyslexia is not a measure of intelligence" - Challenges misconceptions
To inspire young dyslexics:
"We are the architects. We are the designers" - Empowers through identity
Audience - Who He's Writing For
Zephaniah addresses multiple audiences:
Young dyslexics:
"Kids come up to me and say, 'I'm dyslexic too'" - Direct encouragement
Parents of dyslexic children:
"If you are a parent of someone with dyslexia don't think of it as a defect" - Guidance
General readers:
"I know that's what it's like for a lot of young people" - Creates understanding
Voice - How His Tone Changes
Notice Zephaniah's shifting voice:
Rebellious teenager:
"I didn't stab anybody, but I did take revenge" - Defiant honesty
Reflective adult:
"I don't look back and feel angry" - Mature perspective
Confident professional:
"I tell them, 'You can do this course...'" - Authoritative teacher
Playful provocateur:
"Bloody non-dyslexics ... who do they think they are?" - Humorous reversal
Language - Technical Choices
Zephaniah's language creates powerful effects:
Direct quotation:
"Shut up, stupid boy" - Raw, unfiltered teacher cruelty
Metaphor:
"creativity muscle gets bigger" - Physical metaphor for mental development
Colloquialism:
"wid luv", "we've got it going on" - Authentic voice
Irony:
"the past is a different kind of country" - Borrowed literary reference
Structure - How It's Organised
The article's structure builds understanding:
Chronological journey:
From school struggles to professorship - life progression
Pivotal discovery:
"At 21 I went to an adult education class" - Turning point
Cyclical return:
Opens with "We are the architects" and closes with same message
Final defiance:
"Bloody non-dyslexics" - Ends with humorous rebellion