His reflections on life in England describe Britain’s multifaceted roles in his life; his struggles with national identity and belonging, but also the triumph of establishing space to discuss diasporic experiences within academic and literary worlds: “It was in Britain that I felt lonely (as in the loneliness of Sam Selvon’s characters) but it was in Britain that I had the resources to research and publish on West Indian history and culture”.  

Dabydeen’s work largely investigates colonial and postcolonial themes; and embodies the voices of marginalised subjects. He won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and the Quiller-Couch Prize for his first collection, Slave Song (1984), which established his reputation for blending historical consciousness with innovative and characterful linguistic style. Writing in Guyanese Creole, he candidly expresses the brutal and torturous experiences of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, in the very dialect of the oppressed: ‘Tie me haan up. / Juk out me eye. / Haal me teet out / So me na go bite.’ In utilising such language, his poetry legitimises the place of Caribbean dialect in the world of literature. 

In 2000, Dabydeen was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and is the only Guyanese writer to be awarded the title. He was also bestowed the Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) Award in 2007 for his outstanding contribution to literature and the intellectual life of the Indian diaspora. 

His most recent work, Turner (1994), a long narrative poem inspired by J.M.W. Turner’s painting The Slave Ship, is considered a masterpiece of ekphrastic poetry. It delves into the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade, reimagining the voices of enslaved Africans, exploring themes of death, resistance, and cultural survival with the use of sensory lyrical imagery to highlight a complex structure of contrasts. Here he blends horrifying imagery of death and drowning with descriptions of the sublime sea, emphasising the coexistence of beauty and atrocity in history. 

Dabydeen’s poetic style is marked by lush imagery, rhythmic language drawn from oral traditions, and a creative utilisation of Creole, as well as Standard English. Inspired by the brutal histories of slavery and colonialism, his poetry frequently engages with mythological and historical motifs, such as African and Caribbean cosmologies, which challenge Eurocentric narratives. His works hold deep socio-political significance, confronting the topics of racial injustice, displacement, and cultural memory. By drawing on the rich cultural heritage of the Caribbean, Dabydeen conjures the silenced voices of history, making his poetry a profound meditation on identity, resilience, and the enduring impact of colonial legacies.