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Benjamin Zephaniah: "I left a gang of criminals for a gang of poets"

Benjamin Zephaniah tells Rev Kate Bottley on Good Morning Sunday how he left a life of crime in 1970's Birmingham to try and fulfil his creative ambition.

Told by a teacher that he'd either end up 'dead or in prison', Benjamin describes the moment he refused to let that become his destiny.

Within a year of leaving his criminal gang behind he was being hailed a hero in his hometown for his success as a poet and 'appearing on TV'.

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3 minutes