John Agard

John Agard Poems

John Agard Biography

John Agard (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. Agard grew up in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana). He loved to listen to cricket commentary on the radio and began making up his own, which led to a love of language. He went on to study English, French and Latin at A-level, writing his first poetry when he was in sixth-form, and left school in 1967. Leaving school in 1967, he taught the languages he had studied and worked in a local library. He was also a sub-editor and feature writer for the Guyana Sunday Chronicle, publishing two books while still in Guyana. His father settled in London and Agard moved to Britain with his partner Grace Nichols in 1977, settling in Ironbridge, Shropshire. He worked for the Commonwealth Institute and the BBC in London. His awards include the 1997 Paul Hamlyn Award for Poetry, the Cholmondeley Award in 2004 and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012. Agard was Poet-in-Residence at the National Maritime Museum in 2008. His poem Half Caste has been featured in the AQA English GCSE anthology since 2002, meaning that many students (aged 14 – 16) have studied his work for their GCSE English qualification. Agard now lives in Britain.)

The Best Poem Of John Agard

Damsel in distress rap

Bring on your shining armour, dude.
I'll be your damsel in distress with attitude.

I'll turn your hunk to butter
in a flutter of mascara
flood you in promises
of happy-ever-after.
I'll lay my head on your chest
as I put you to the test.
Spoonfeed your ego's ear
with sweet nothingness
and whispher you're the best
cause it looks like you're the type
who believe in hype
of the damsel in distress.

If I give you my number
will you kiss me out of slumber?
If I shed a tear or two
will you speed it to my rescue?

So bring on your shining armour, dude.
I'm your damsel in distress with attitude.

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