Winner of The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education's Poetry Award for 2009and nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2010.
Brilliantly original, John Agard’s poetic reworking of Dante’s Inferno for a young, modern audience is a thrilling journey of discovery. Told in thirteen Cantos which follow the hero in a hoodie, it takes readers into the Circles of Hell where, among others, they confront Frankenstein, the Furies and Crone. Each is a life changing experience. Satoshi Kitamura’s illustrations confirm the dark experiences of the young hero.
John Agard is a playwright, poet and children's writer from Guyana, who moved to the United Kingdom in 1977. He worked for the Commonwealth Institute from 1978 to 1985, travelling throughout the United Kingdom as a touring reader promoting the Caribbean culture to over 2000 schools. He currently resides in Lewes, near Brighton with his partner, the poet Grace Nichols. He became the first Writer in Residence at the South Bank Centre in London and became Poet in Residence at the BBC in London as well. He has won a total of five awards for his works, including the Paul Hamlyn Award for Poetry in 1997 and the Cholmondeley Award in 2004. John was Poet-in-Residence at the National Maritime Museum from August to November 2008.
