{"id":32,"date":"2022-05-16T07:53:40","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T07:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/?p=32"},"modified":"2022-05-16T08:12:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T08:12:33","slug":"flag-by-john-agard-presented-by-russell-evans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/2022\/05\/16\/flag-by-john-agard-presented-by-russell-evans\/","title":{"rendered":"Flag, by John Agard, presented by Russell Evans."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Agard emigrated from Guiana to the UK in 1977 with his partner the poet Grace Nichols. He published his first book of poetry when still in sixth-form, and even in his early work was already taking an absurdist\u2019s view of race and social class. His humour is crucial to his unique piercing of social attitudes, \u201cmaking de Queen\u2019s English accessory to my offence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although his work often addresses Britain\u2019s social and ethnic problems he casts his eye far wider with subject matter about war, animals and the British establishment. In his renowned children\u2019s works he offers a playful taking down of hypocrisy, as in \u2018We Animals Would Like a Word With You (1998). Agard has become a wry observer of changing attitudes, at times gently prodding a complacent reader and at others infusing his work with what Senator John Lewis called an urge to make \u2018necessary trouble,\u2019 as in the poem here. Flag is a timely poem to be reproduced here, dealing with the futility of war. Agard won the Queen\u2019s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012, the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flag, by John Agard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s that fluttering in the breeze?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s just a piece of cloth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that brings a nation to its knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s that unfurling from a pole?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s just a piece of cloth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That makes the guts of men grow bold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s that rising over the tent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s just a piece of cloth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that dares the coward relent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s that flying across a field?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s just a piece of cloth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that will outlive the blood you bleed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can I possess such a cloth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just ask for a flag my friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then blind your conscience to the end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Agard emigrated from Guiana to the UK in 1977 with his partner the poet Grace Nichols. He published his first book of poetry when still in sixth-form, and even in his early work was already taking an absurdist\u2019s view of race and social class. His humour is crucial to his unique piercing of social… Continue reading Flag, by John Agard, presented by Russell Evans.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/35"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/foahbequalitydiversityandinclusion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}