Themes and message

The main themes explored in the poem “London Taxi Driver” by David Dabydeen are colonialism and postcolonial immigration. These themes are enhanced through motifs like violence and sex.

The author sends a critical message with the poem, drawing readers’ attention to some of the negative consequences of colonialism (poverty, lack of education) and to the disadvantaged life of many immigrants from former colonies.

Colonialism and postcolonial immigration

The poem conveys the portrait of an immigrant from Guyana, a former British colony in South America with strong cultural ties to the Caribbean. The man lives now in London and works as a taxi driver. He has emigrated from a poor village in Berbice, a region in Guyana. 

The poem presents his status as an immigrant. He comes from a poor, uneducated background as indicate...