Poet Daljit Nagra

Forward Prize winner for best single poem: ‘Look We have Coming To Dover!’

Was it his energy? His innate sense of fun? His enthusiasm for words? Daljit Nagra engaged us and opened our minds to the craft of writing when he visited JAGS yesterday, leading workshops with our home-grown poets from Years 7-13. He explained the art of waiting for the moment when the poem just arrives in a rush and can be written in a day, although editing can take two years!  Daljit thinks of himself as always editing. The poems don’t want to land first time in perfect form.

Reading two of his poems, Daljit told us it’s the job of the writer to open things up, not to explain exactly what it should mean; that’s up to the reader.

The richness of Daljit’s writing comes partly from his Sikh Punjabi background; his poems are about the Britain where Indians settled and his words immerse the reader in a diverse collection of people who have their own stories. He’s very honest. From the first word of the first poem in his collection, ‘Darling and Me’ (Di), the reader faces the challenge: Deal with it! Or leave it…

Daljit spent the evening engaged in hearing the JAGS poets who read or performed their own work in front of parents and friends. Clearly impressed with the 65 poems that had been selected and the way they were presented, Daljit made snapshot comments about phrases that had gripped his attention and the inspiration they held. It was a fascinating evening. 

Please click here for Poems 2009.