When we are oppressed we want to bring about change so that the oppression is no longer felt by us and is recognised by the oppressors as wrong. From the beginning the author's main purpose is apparent. The metaphors and emotive language Grace Nichols uses, illustrates to us the reality of oppression towards blacks, through her experienced eyes. These techniques are prevalent in the poems, "Of Course When They Ask for Poems About the Realities …showed first 75 words of 578 total…

…showed last 75 words of 578 total…writing these two poems was to inform, to force us to act and fight the oppression. Through the medium of poetry, Grace Nichols has helped fight oppression, so that the world can become a better place for all. She has used metaphors and emotive language, among other things to achieve this purpose in the poems, "Of Course When They Ask for Poems About the Realities of Black Women" and "The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping".