John Agard Events and Readings
‘... 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
Poet, performer, anthologist, John Agard was born in Guyana and came to Britain in 1977. His many books include nine from Bloodaxe, most recently The Coming of the Little Green Man (2018), with his ninth collection Border Zone published in April 2022.
John Agard was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2012 for his Bloodaxe retrospective Alternative Anthem: Selected Poems (2009, with DVD), which includes some of his poetry for children along with a selection of his poetry for adults. In November 2021 John Agard became the first poet to win BookTrust's Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to children's literature.
PAST EVENTS AND READINGS
John Agard reads from Border Zone at the 2022 Newcastle Poetry Festival
John Agard read from his 2022 collection Border Zone at the 2022 Newcastle Poetry Festival. John read ‘Potato Speaks’, ‘Flag Speaks’, ‘Diversity in de Market’, ‘Ice Speaks’ and ‘Weeds’. Filmed by Peter Hebden. Special thanks to Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts.
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.
[03 May 2023]
