Daljit Nagra

Daljit Nagra was born and brought up in West London and Sheffield. He lives in London, and works as a secondary school English teacher. In 2003, he won the Smith/Doorstop pamphlet competition with Oh my Rub!, under the pseudonym Khan Singh Kumar, the pamphlet going on to become a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice and chosen as one of The Guardian's Poetry Books of the Year. In 2004, his poem Look We Have Coming to Dover! won the Forward Prize (Best Single Poem), and this became the title of his first collection, published in 2007. It went on to win the 2007 Forward Poetry Prize (Best First Collection) and the 2008 Arts Council England Decibel Award. It relates to the experience of British-born Indians, and often employs 'Punglish' - English spoken by Indian Punjabi immigrants. Look We Have Coming to Dover! was shortlisted for several further awards, including the 2007 Costa Poetry Award, and the 2007 Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. Daljit Nagra's second collection, Tipoo Sultan's Incredible White-Man-Eating Tiger Toy-Machine!!!, its title inspired by an 18th-century automaton, was published in 2011. It was shortlisted for the 2011 T. S. Eliot Prize. His third book, Ramayana: A Retelling (2014), was also shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. His latest collection is British Museum (2017).