Checking Out Me History

• Checking out the history by John Agard


  A poem about identity
• John Agard: 'In a BBC interview, Agard said that he was reading a history textbook in school and it contained a sentence that was something like this: 'West Indian history begins in 1492 with the arrival of Columbus''
• When Agard read this line

  It got him thinking about how education has a euro-centric view, that nothing exists until the Europeans have entered the arena of history, and how the retelling of history really depends on who is telling the story
• The narrator in the poem

  • Was only taught about British history dates like 1066, folklore like Dick Whittington, and historical figures like Lord Nelson
  • Was not taught about his Caribbean heritage
• Figures from diverse backgrounds mentioned in the poem

  • Nanny de Maroon
  • Mary Seacole
• By the end of the poem


  The speaker is looking into his own history and carving out his own identity
• John Agard


  Born in Guyana, South America in 1949, moved to Britain in 1977, 10 years after leaving school, his poetry often focuses on ethnicity and identity
• Checking out me history

  • A poem about power and how those who have it use this power to shape our understanding of identity
• Form of the poem

  Oral poetry, historically there was a tradition of reciting poems aloud to tell stories to others so that they would remember them, these would often be stories of a group's history
• Conventions of oral poetry in Checking out me history

  • Repetition of various words and phrases, phonetic spelling (e.g. 'dem'), strong rhythm
• The rhyme scheme


  Forces white and black history together, building up to emphasize the significance of figures like Nanny de Maroon
• Nanny de Maroon was the leader of the Maroons, a group in Jamaica who escaped slavery in the 18th century
• The final stanza


  The speaker himself is the focus, indicating how a reflection on the importance of other black figures has made him realize his own importance
• References to nursery rhymes and fables


  • Intertextual references, suggesting the westernized, eurocentric view of history is just as fictional and ridiculous as a nursery rhyme or a legend
• Lack of punctuation in the poem


  Symbolizes Agard's refusal to accept the restrictions that are forced on him
• The poem ends with the line 'I carving out my identity'


  Carving is an active and even strenuous task, suggesting that we have to actively seek out and find our identity, which then validates us
• Comparing Checking out me history

  To London, both challenge the powers that form our identity, one about education, the other about religion, monarchy and government
• For more on this poem, pick up a copy of Mr Bruff's guide to Power and Conflict Poetry