The Poetry World of John Agard

This is a marvellous book. It is a taste of John Agard’s children’s poetry selected from his early career in a sumptuous hardback, in which Shirley Hottier’s illustrations jostle his verse with matching verve and invention. These are selections that the poet has made himself from his collections from 1983-2001, each section with an infectious Agard introduction, telling us about his inspirations, welcoming us to the magic and mystery of words, and inviting us to take our own dip in the restless seas of language. These are poems whose disarming simplicity and charm show us that here is a poet who can do nearly everything apparently effortlessly: entering the mind of a child as he subtly negotiates for the colour of shoes he wants; celebrating the time-honoured sayings of granny; spicing up nursery rhymes with Caribbean flavour; and making animals talk to us and to each other. He deals in close and subtle observation, and thoughtful and mischievous transformation. His default mode is joy and his incitement is to laughter and wonder.