Poet
Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze was an internationally-renowned poet. Born in Hanover, Jamaica, she first visited London in 1985 to take part in the International Book Fair of Radical and Third World Books. She released seven poetry books, Riddym Ravings (Race Today, 1988), Spring Cleaning (Virago, 1992), and On the Edge of an Island (1997), The Arrival of Brighteye (2000), The Fifth Figure (2006), Third World Girl: Selected Poems (2011, with DVD) and The Verandah Poems (2016) with Bloodaxe, as well as several records and CDs, including Tracks and Eena Me Corner with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band and Riding On De Riddym: selected spoken works (57 Productions). She performed her work throughout the world, including tours of the Caribbean, Britain, North America, Europe, South East Asia and Africa, and divided her time between Jamaica and England. She received a NESTA Award in 2003, and an MBE in 2012 for services to literature. Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze passed away on 4 August 2021.