CLiPPA Winner Announced: John Agard Wins for the Third Time!

John Agard’s title The Poetry World of John Agard illustrated by Shirley Hottier and published by Otter-Barry Books was revealed as the winner on July 9th.

John Agard has, with this win, become the first poet in CLiPPa’s 23 year history to win the award three times. The Poetry World of John Agard features work from Agard’s early career. Agard’s poetry is a regular feature in school classroom and libraries and he has been cited as a major influence but other poets including Raymond Antrobus and Dean Atta amongst others.

John very kindly answered some questions for us for a series from CLiPPA shortlisted poets. You can read those answers and find out more about a few of John’s most loved in schools poetry collections below.

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Congratulations on making the shortlist for the 2026 CLiPPA Award. How does it feel?

Well, it’s very nice to be shortlisted. It’s so important, the CLiPPA, because it brings to the fore and it gives a central platform and a central moment for poetry. The award show itself is magical; there’s Chris Riddell, to my right, doing his feverish sketches, the poets coming forward to perform, and then involving the children themselves. It’s a very exciting event, I love being there.

What three words would you use to describe what poetry and writing it means to you?

Electrifying, energising and empathy.

Can you share one tip for students shadowing the CLiPPA Award shortlist on how they might more enjoy performing your poems?

Stand in front of a mirror and read them aloud. See if you can do better than your reflection!

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Could you offer one prompt for teachers to share with students as a springboard for writing a poem of their own?

Get them interested in song lyrics and don’t just sing along, read the lyrics alone and see which have poetry. Great poets like Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan, who make you come to grips with language that resonates and that can cut through the ocean of triteness that they can be flooded with in current times. This can also come through nursery rhymes, fairy tales and assembly hymns. You know… ‘Morning has broken like the first morning.’ When you sing it, The melody of the words seduces you, but if you speak it, When you speak it, you have to bring emotion. And then you get to grips with language that really resonates. What I’m really saying to teachers is to turn the children on to language; excite them and you create something for life. As teachers, you are the inspirers, the life raft thrown to a young mind.

Last year’s CLiPPA winner Colette Hiller shared the following with us on our blog, “Children are natural wordsmiths. They love knowing and using big words. Despite this, adults often take pains to avoid seemingly sophisticated words. But they needn’t. For if a child can grasp a word’s concept, they’ll relish using the word itself” In the spirit of Colette’s suggestion, what’s a big, sophisticated word you think children might not yet know and might very much enjoy.

I love words like, flabbergasted, consternated, preposterous. You know, good words that you might show off as a child to show that you’re increasing your vocabulary.