In the context of a diversified and pluralistic arena of contemporary literature embodying
previously marginalized voices of region, ethnicity, gender, and class, black poets living
in Britain developed a distinct branch of contemporary poetry. Having emerged from a
struggle to give voice to marginalized groups in Britain, the poetry of Linton Kwesi
Johnson, David Dabydeen, and Fred D’Aguiar helped define national identity and
explored racial oppression. Motivated by a sense of responsibility towards their
communities, these poets undertook the task of transmitting black history to young blacks
who risked losing ties to their roots. They also emphasized the necessity of fighting
racism by constructing an awareness of Afro-Caribbean national identity while
establishing black cultural heritage in contemporary British poetry. In this book, Turkish
literary scholar Dilek Bulut Sarıkaya examines their works. Linton Kwesi Johnson’s
Voices of the Living and the Dead (1974), Inglan is a Bitch (1980), and Tings an Times (1991) open the study, followed by David Dabydeen’s Slave Song (1984), Coolie Odyssey (1988), and Turner (1994) and, finally, Fred D’Aguiar’s Mama Dot (1985), Airy Hall (1989) and British Subjects (1993).