What is John Agard saying about identity?

The poet feels blinded from his own identity; the white-owned historical narrative has ‘Bandage up me eye with me won history/ Bind me to me own identity’. This is a shocking idea, that someone should feel blinded, deliberately denied knowledge of his own ancestors and role models.

What was John Agard well known for?

John Agard FRSL (born 21 June 1949 in British Guiana) is an Afro-Guyanese playwright, poet and children’s writer, now living in Britain. In 2012, he was selected for the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.

Why is Agard famous?

Born in Guyana in 1949, John Agard moved to Britain in 1977. A prize-winning collection of poems, Man To Pan, appeared in 1982, introducing a poetry of unusual imagination that drew deeply from the Caribbean, while adopting the leitmotif of Pan as a symbol of cultural heritage and unity.

How does Agard present identity in half caste?

When we talk about identity we signify how a person is portrayed. Agard’s poem ‘Half Caste’ presents the idea of originating from another culture negatively whereas Dharker’s presents the idea positively. Agard does not use any punctuation in his poem ‘Half-Caste’. Dharker on the other hand uses Standard English.

What are the main themes of John Agard’s work?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, cultural differences, class divisions and subverted racial stereotypes abound in his often questing, questioning work. But as serious as Agard’s themes often are, his is always a playful, entertaining approach; humour as a means of disarming the worst of the world.

What kind of poetry does John Agard write?

Here is a poet who revels in disrupting accepted opinion and coolly undermining the po-faced establishment. Critic and novelist David Dabydeen has described Agard’s poetry as “a wonderful affirmation of life, in a language that is vital and joyous”. Agard is also capable of crafting metered and rhymed forms.

When did John Agard move to the UK?

A unique and energetic force in contemporary British poetry, John Agard’s poems combine acute social observation, puckish wit and a riotous imagination to thrilling effect. Born in Guyana, South America in 1949, Agard moved to Britain in the late seventies.

What was Helen Dunmore’s view of John Agard?

Helen Dunmore’s view of Agard is as an “eloquent contemporary poet”, whose work is “rich in literary and cultural allusion, yet as direct as a voice in the bus queue”.