John Agard has been broadening the canvas of British poetry for the past 40 years with his mischievous, satirical fables which overturn all our expectations. His ninth Bloodaxe collection, Border Zone, explores a far-reaching canvas of British/Caribbean transatlantic connections, sweeping across centuries and continents.

Poet, performer, anthologist, John Agard was born in Guyana and came to Britain in 1977. His many books include numerous poetry collections for adults and children over a career spanning four decades. He is the winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2012, presented to him by The Queen in March 2013, and in 2021 became the first poet to win BookTrust's Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives with the poet Grace Nichols and family in Sussex; they received the CLPE Poetry Award 2003 for their children's anthology Under the Moon and Over the Sea (Walker Books).