THE poet who has refused to accept an OBE is to appear in Swindon on the first day of 2004 literature festival.
Benjamin Zephaniah has provoked both outrage and admiration for declining the award, which he dismisses as an outdated legacy of Britain's colonialist past.
His works include the poem Bought and Sold, which expresses his views about fellow artists being compromised by accepting awards.
On May 1 2004, he will appear at the Arts Centre on the first day of the 11th Swindon Festival of Litera-ture.
Festival director Matt Holland, while expressing no view on the validity of the poet's stance, today praised him for taking it.
Mr Holland said: "In speaking his mind, he is being a true artist and honouring his profession as a poet."
Other guests to appear at the festival include Mark Haddon, the author whose novel, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, is set in Swindon.
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