Jean "Binta" Breeze



Jean "Binta" Breeze (born 1956) is a Jamaican dub poet, and storyteller. She has worked also as a theatre director, choreographer, actor and teacher. She was awarded in 2003 a Nesta Fellowship of two years, to be held in Cambridge.

Life
Breeze was born and raised in rural Jamaica, and studied at the Jamaican School of Drama in Kingston. She came to London in 1986, at the invitation of Linton Kwesi Johnson; She taught Theatre Studies at Brixton College. She has since also written for drama in various media. Her first book of poetry, Ryddim Ravings, was published in 1988 by the Race Today cooperative. She went on to write the screenplay for Hallelujah Anyhow, a co-production of the British Film Institute and Channel 4. She also released several albums, contributing to Woman's Talk (1986), and recording Tracks in 1991 with Dennis Bovell's Dub Band.

She suffers from schizophrenia and has written poetry about what she herself calls "madness." In April 2006, on the BBC Radio program "The Interview," Breeze gave her perspective on mental illness and advocated increased attention to the needs of schizophrenics who do not have a "talent" like hers.

She now lives in Leicester, England.

Poetry

 * Answers (1983)
 * Riddym Ravings and Other Poems (1988) edited by Mervyn Morris
 * Spring Cleaning (1992)
 * On the Edge of an Island (1997)
 * Song Lines (1997)
 * The Arrival of Brighteye and Other Poems (2000)
 * The Fifth Figure (2006)

Audio/video

 * Riddym Ravings (1987), ROIR
 * Tracks (1991), LKJ
 * Riding on de Riddym (1997), 57 Productions
 * Eena Me Corner (2010), Arroyo Rec.