WORD! Black History Month Special with John Agard

Join us for a special evening celebrating the poetry and words of international poet John Agard and local poet sensations brought to you through a collaboration between Renaissance One and Word! We'll offer a space for conversation, performance and a Caribbean-style lime.

John Agard is a poet, playwright and short story writer who grew up in Guyana, where his love of language stemmed from listening to cricket commentaries on the radio. He has won many prizes, including the Smarties Book Prize and the Queen’s Gold Medal and in 2021 was awarded the prestigious BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding contribution to children’s literature. John is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and his work appears in an AQA anthology for GCSE English Literature. With his wife, the poet Grace Nichols, John has edited the Walker anthologies A Caribbean Dozen and Under the Moon and Over the Sea, and he is the author of the Carnegie-longlisted My Name Is Book. John lives in Lewes, East Sussex.

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“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.” – Poetry Archive

“…a wonderful affirmation of life, in a language that is vital and joyous” – David Dabydeen

“John is one of the most exciting, energetic and spellbinding readers you’ll hear, breathing passion and energy into each of his poems when he speaks them aloud.” – Poetry Archive

WORD! is an 22-year-old voluntary poetry and spoken word organisation based in the East Midlands and uniquely co-produced by an NHS Trust. They deliver one of the longest running poetry and spoken word nights in the UK (WORD! at Attenborough Arts Centre) alongside an ever expanding programme of other activities across Leicester and Nottinghamshire.

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