John Agard was born and educated in Guyana and emigrated to Britain in 1977. His poem ‘Half-caste’ in on the AQA English GCSE syllabus and every year he tours the UK performing with other top poets for GCSE students. He became the first writer in residence at the South Bank Centre in 1993 and at the BBC in 1998; his awards include the CLPE Award. He lives with the poet Grace Nichols and their family in Sussex.