John Siddique (born July 1964) is a

spiritual teacher This is an index of religious honorifics from various religions. Buddhism Christianity Eastern Orthodox The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Protestantism Catholicism Hinduism Islam Judaism ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. Siddique has had nine books published and his teachings and writings have featured in ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'', on

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and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' called him "Rebellious by nature, pure at heart." ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' magazine described him as "A stellar British poet." ''New York Times'' correspondent Bina Shah says Siddique is "One of the best poets of our generation." Former Scottish Poet Laureate

Jackie Kay Jacqueline Margaret Kay (born 9 November 1961) is a Scottish poet, playwright, and novelist, known for her works ''Other Lovers'' (1993), ''Trumpet'' (1998) and ''Red Dust Road'' (2011). Kay has won many awards, including the Somerset Maugham A ...

speaks of Siddique's writing as being "A brilliant balancing act." Siddique is the Honorary Fellow in Creative Writing at

Leicester University The University of Leicester ( ) is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university ...

. He is the former Laureate of the British city of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, and

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

Poet in Residence at

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

, Los Angeles. From 2013 to 2015 he was the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

(RLF) Fellow at

York St. John University York St John University (originally established as York Diocesan College), often abbreviated to YSJ, is a public university located on a large urban campus in York, England. Established in 1841, it achieved university status in 2006 and in 2015 ...

and is a founding editor for the RLF's WritersMosaic initiative. He is the Project Co-ordinator for the Royal Literary Fund and WritersMosaic in The North of England

Personal life

Siddique was born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, Lancashire, England. The young Siddique immersed himself in the world of books through his local library. Before becoming a writer, he drifted through various jobs such as being a roadie, a pipe-welder, and

landscape gardener Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructi ...

. He first began writing in 1991 after reading

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's '' Ulysses'' and discovering the poetry of e.e. cummings,

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

, and

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

. Siddique has stated in interviews that he regards his true countries of birth to be "literature and language".

Published works

Non-Fiction * ''Signposts of The Spiritual Journey'' (Watkins Publishing, 2021) Poetry * ''So – Selected New Poems 2011–21'' (Crocus, 2022) * ''Full Blood'' (

Salt Publishing Salt Publishing is an independent publisher whose origins date back to 1990 when poet John Kinsella launched ''Salt Magazine'' in Western Australia. The journal rapidly developed an international reputation as a leading publisher of new poetry ...

, 2011) * ''Recital – An Almanac'' (Salt, 2009) * ''Blackpool – A Poet’s View'' (Blackpool Council, 2009) * ''Poems from a Northern Soul'' (Crocus, 2007) * ''Transparency'' (editor) (Crocus, 2006) * ''The Prize'' (Rialto, 2005) * ''The Devil's Lunchbox'' (Crocus, 1996) Short stories * ''Four Fathers'' (co-author) (Route, 2007) For children * ''Don’t Wear It On Your Head'' (Salt, 2010) Selected anthologies * ''New Writing 15'' (

) * ''The Fire People'' ( Payback/Canongate Books) * ''The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry'' (

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

) * ''Masala'' (MacMillan) * ''Out of Bounds'' (

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

) * ''RED'' (

Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. Poet Kwame Dawes has said: "Peepal Tree Press's position as the leading pu ...

) * ''Life Lines – Poets for Oxfam'' CD * ''I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree'' ( Nosy Crow/National Trust) * ''Contraflow - Lines of Englishness'' ( Renard Press) Prizes, awards and honours *Hawthornden Fellowship *Royal Literary Fund Fellow –

, 2013–15 *Honorary Creative Writing Fellow at

* Arts Council of England Writer's Awards, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011 *Shortlisted for CPLE Poetry Award, 2007 *Nomination for Best First Collection –

Forward Prize The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

, 2005 *Nomination for Best Poem – Forward Prize, 2004 Residencies *Canterbury Poet Laureate 2016 *Royal Literary Fund Fellow – York St. John 2013/15 & 2014/15 *Manchester Literature Festival, 2010 *Los Angeles for The British Council, 2009 *Blackpool – Poet in Residence, 2008 *Manchester Art Gallery, 2008 *Fundacion Valparaiso, 2006 *The Rainer Charity, Wigan, 2005 * Commonword/ BBC Manchester – Poet in Residence, 2005 *Ilkley Literature Festival - Poet in Residence, 2004 *HMYOI Wetherby – Writer in Residence, 2000–03 *Ledbury Poetry Festival – Writer in Residence for Young People, 2000–03 *The LOWRY – Poet in residence, 2000–01 *Prestwich NHS Trust – Poet in Residence, 2000

References

External links

Authentic Living Website

Granta

Interview at The Argotist

California State University Poet in Residence Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddique, John 1964 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century British poets 21st-century British male writers British male poets British male writers Spiritual teachers