Powys visits of late Benjamin Zephaniah remembered

The Birmingham poet was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008 and described as "the people's laureate" while also championing animal rights and British electoral reform.

The poet spent some time in Powys where his talents were lauded as much as his forthright views on the Welsh language.

In a BBC interview in 2013, he said: "I feel kind of ashamed that here I am, a British person talking about multi-culturalism, and I can speak Urdu but I can't speak Welsh.”

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In 2015 he visited the Eisteddfod held in Meifod where he called for Welsh to be taught not just in Wales but across Britain.

The poet was a massive fan of the Welsh language saying it should be taught across the UK so people understand “different cultures and languages."

He said: "I loved it. And I stand by what I said about the Welsh language. Britain is a multicultural place, and if we can learn Hindi, German, Chinese, French, and Polish in our schools, I don’t see any reason why we can’t learn Welsh.

“Not all schools teach Hindi/Chinese etc, so not all schools should teach Welsh/Cornish/Scots, but they are our native languages and so they should also be options. Multiculturalism is not just about the cultures that come here; it should also be about the cultures that are here.

"In England, on the whole, when we talk about multiculturalism, we tend to talk about black people/Asian people and people who have brought their cultures here. "Sometimes we forget that there are local cultures which are very different to English."

He returned to Powys in 2021 when he attended Hay Literary Festival and was recognised with Hay Festival Medal for Poetry.

Zephaniah said: “I’ve lost count of how many years I’ve been going to Hay Festival as a poet, novelist, musician, as an audience member, and now digitally.

"So, when I say that receiving the Hay Festival Medal for Poetry is a great moment for me, you must understand, I really mean it. I love the festival, I love the people who work on the festival, and I love the town. For me, this medal is all about love. Thank you.”