John Agard

John Agard FRSL (born 21 June 1949) is a Guyanese playwright, poet, and children's writer. He was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) and grew up in Georgetown. Agard developed a love for language by listening to cricket commentary on the radio and began creating his own. He studied English, French, and Latin at A-Level and published his first poetry while in sixth form. Agard moved to Britain in 1977 and settled in Ironbridge, Shropshire with his partner Grace Nichols. He has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012 and BookTrust's Lifetime Achievement Award in November 2021.