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The Coming of the Little Green Man | Bloodaxe Books
john-agard-the-coming-of-the-little-green-man

John Agard

The Coming of the Little Green Man

John Agard

Publication Date : 25 Oct 2018

ISBN: 9781780374185

Pages: 65
Size :216 x 138mm
Rights: World

Winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, 2012

Poetry Book Society Special Commendation

John Agard has been broadening the canvas of British poetry for the past 40 years with his mischievous, satirical fables which overturn all our expectations. In his eighth Bloodaxe collection we enter a world of play and parable – in which the little green man stands for all pesky outsiders – in provocative poems charged with contemporary resonance.

Which box should the little green man tick on the question of identity? Will the little green man survive as a minority of one in a multiracial London? What if the little green man volunteers to give blood to 21st-century humankind?

Winner of the Queen's Gold Medal, the Caribbean-British poet brings to bear his trademark trickster wit that bridges the metaphysical and the political, the comic and the poignant, the oral and the literary.

‘... if Agard had not already been forged in the roller-coaster aftermath of empire, there would be an urgent need for society to invent someone like him.’ – William Wallis, Financial Times  Magazine

‘In the year when we learnt of the damage and cruelty that the UK’s hostile-environment policies inflicted on the Windrush generation, John Agard strikes back with these cleverly crafted parables of an outsider.  The little green man’s encounters and observations, his mix of wonder and wise caution, are given a voice that manages to be both naïve and incisive.’ – Maria Crawford, Financial Times (Poetry Books of the Year 2018)

‘Through the figure of the alien, Agard is able to retell, in an original and uncanny manner, the now familiar stories of migrants arriving, and striving to assimilate, in Britain… The Coming of the Little Green Man makes a poignant contribution to current discussions of migration and ‘foreigners’, and makes an insistent call for a shift away from isolationism to a more inclusive and harmonious humanity.’ – Sarala Estruch, Times Literary Supplement

'Agard lets his little green man dance over serious subjects with a grace and lightness but without ever diminishing the importance of his social commentary.' - D A Prince, Under the Radar

‘John Agard's poetry is a wonderful affirmation of life, in a language that is as vital and joyous as we are able to craft it in the Caribbean, in spite of our history of distress.’ – David Dabydeen

 

JOHN AGARD: Alternative Anthem

John Agard performs his 'Alternative Anthem' with the audience at London's Soho Theatre. 'Alternative Anthem' is also the title poem of Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems (2009), a DVD-book featuring Agard's performances at two different venues. This video is from the DVD John Agard Live! included in his Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems from Bloodaxe.

 

JOHN AGARD: Listen Mr Oxford don

John Agard reads his poem 'Listen Mr Oxford don', familiar to thousands of school students from the GCSE syllabus. This video is from the DVD John Agard Live! included in his Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems from Bloodaxe.

 

JOHN AGARD: Playing the Ghost of Maimonides

John Agard reads and introduces six poems from his Bloodaxe collection Playing the Ghost of Maimonides: ‘The Return of Perplexed Maimonides’, ‘The Jester’s Postwar Reflection’, ‘The Jester’s Eureka Moment’, ‘The Jester Confronts the Almighty on Separating the Sheep from the Goat’, ‘A Senior Moment’ and ‘Maimonides Discourses on the Fifth of the Four Humours’. This video shows part of his performance at Ledbury Poetry Festival on 3 July 2016.

 

JOHN AGARD with Keith Waithe

A second excerpt from the Alternative Anthem DVD-book (2009). John Agard and fellow Guyanan Keith Waithe perform 'Flute Boy', a piece specially written by Agard for his flute maestro friend. Then Waithe accompanies Agard's performance of his poem 'Marriage of Opposites'. Finally, the third poem in this excerpt is Agard's much celebrated 'Half-caste', now on the syllabus in many English schools. This live performance by Agard and Waithe was filmed at Havant Arts Centre in 2008. This video is from the DVD John Agard Live! included in his Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems from Bloodaxe.

 

USA: Click here to order from Indiebound or Bookshop.org

  

BOOKS BY John Agard

Alternative Anthem

John Agard

Alternative Anthem

Selected Poems (with DVD)

Publication Date : 26 Feb 2009

Read More   amazon.co.uk
Border Zone

John Agard

Border Zone

Publication Date : 28 Apr 2022

Read More   amazon.co.uk
Clever Backbone

John Agard

Clever Backbone

Publication Date : 26 Feb 2009

Read More   amazon.co.uk
Playing the Ghost of Maimonides

John Agard

Playing the Ghost of Maimonides

Publication Date : 23 Jun 2016

Read More   amazon.co.uk

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