Jean 'Binta' Breeze (1956-2021) 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, and she
continued to write, perform and teach until a collapsed lung resulted
in early retirement to Jamaica. She published eight books of poetry and
stories. Answers (Jamaica, 1982), Riddym Ravings (Race Today, UK, 1988), Spring Cleaning (Virago, 1992) were followed by 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) from Bloodaxe. She also released several records, cassettes 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 latterly divided her time between Jamaica and
England. She received a NESTA Award in 2003, and an MBE in 2012 for
services to literature.