Perspectives

Historical Perspective

The poem “Remember the Ship” by John Agard discusses immigration in relation to the immigrant ships that came to Europe, particularly from John Agard’s perspective of a Caribbean immigrant coming to the United Kingdom.

The British Nationality Act 1948 cr…

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Works by the same author

John Agard’s poem “Listen Mr Oxford don” also explores the theme of racial discrimination in relation to immigration. While in “Remember the Ship”, Agard simply wonders whether race will be something that prevents immigrants from being accepted into the country, in “Listen Mr Oxford don”, Agard explores the way an immigrant can be seen as dangerous simply because he is not a white British citizen.

The theme of immigration is also explored in John Agard’s poem “Mr and Mrs Xenophobia”. In the poem, Agard looks at British n…