School of Distance Education

Lau, Lorraine. “Sarah Howe.” 
Postcolonial 
Writers Make Worlds
, 2018, 
https://writersmakeworlds.com/sarah-howe/. 
Accessed 12 July 2021.

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School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
 century
10 
Look We Have Coming to Dover
by Daljit Nagra
Born and raised in London, DaljitNagra is the 
first writer to receive the Forward Prize for both his first 
collection of poetry, in 2007, and for its title poem, 
Look, 
We Have Coming to Dover!
, three years earlier. The 
tensions of duel heritage and between first and second 
generation immigrants are a key theme in his 
poems.DaljitNagra's second collection, 
Tipo Sultan's 
Incredible White-Man-Eating Tiger Toy-Machine!!!,
was 
inspired by an 18th-century automaton, 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).
Look We Have Coming to Dover!’ take models 
from acknowledged classics of English-language poetry, 
using Seamus Heaney and Matthew Arnold as 
predecessors with varying relations to Britain. In his 
carefully crafted poetry, Nagra explores the challenging 
experiences of British-born Asians and through this 
presents a fresh portrait of modern Britain. His mixing of 
cultures and language is most obvious in his use of 
‘Punglish’, a form of Indian English, influenced by the 
language of the Punjab.

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School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
 century
11 
Look We Have Coming to Dover!’ by Daljit 
Nagratells of the arrival of immigrants to England and 
of their lives filled with hard work, fears, and dreams. 
The poem begins with the speaker describing the 
terrifying arrival into Dover. The water is dirty, the 
tourists lord over them and they fear being spotted. 
When they finally make it to shore they drive off 
quickly hoping to make their lives a brighter and a 
happier one. In spite of the hard work they have to put 
in, these people are joyful that they could start their 
lives over. The immigration crisis is one of the most 
challenging aspects of modern civilisation. People in 
search of a brighter future take risks that may cost 
them their lives. Their journey is full of turmoil and 
turbulences. But its their perseverance and optimism 
that guide them into new land. Nagra captures the 
fear, hopes, anxiety that reflect in these people’s 
faces.
The contrastive nature of immigrants and 
English people are quite prominent throughout the 
poem. Immigrants, though they seek a new life in a 
strange country, still keep their culture intact. They 
want to keep a piece of their homeland with them.