From this week, visitors will not only be able to read all 18 winning poems from Birmingham City University’s 2025 Benjamin Zephaniah Future Writers competition but also listen to them being recited - bringing each piece vividly to life.
Qian Zephaniah, Benjamin’s wife, said: “Benjamin believed that poetry should live and breathe in the world, not sit quietly on shelves.
“So, to have these voices – inspired by his work – echoing through the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, where he loved to walk and think, feels like coming home.”
Thousands of young and emerging writers from across the UK entered the second annual Future Writers competition, submitting poems inspired by Zephaniah’s book Nature Trail.
The winning entries, which will be dotted around the Gardens until 17 May 2026, explore themes rooted in the natural world - from environmental responsibility and caring for the planet, to the everyday spaces people inhabit, and the powerful role nature plays in shaping lives.
Birmingham-born Zephaniah, known for his passionate advocacy for social justice, equality and the environment, died in 2023 aged 63.
Reflecting on the power of the Future Writers competition to carry Benjamin’s legacy forward, Qian added: “To every young poet who entered: you kept his spirit alive.
“To every winner: your words now bloom where his once did.
“To everyone who visits: let these poems remind you that nature nurtures us, and that poetry – like a garden – grows best when it's shared.
“Keep writing. Keep growing. Keep making the world more beautiful with your words.”
