I was thirty when I heard my first ever poem, properly. Then it was two poems in one week, as if they were trying to get me: DH Lawrence’s Flowers and Men and ee cummings. They were a call to life. There’s something in literature that gave room for a wild part of me to love and have life. I wanted to know: Could I do it? Now I want to explore certain ideas. Recital sees Britain as a wounded country, in spiritual crisis. Robert Graves talked of a poet being a secular person, and of the shamanic tradition of poetry. Recital is an act of patriotism. In it I’m trying to contribute to the life of my country. Literature is a form of collective unconsciousness. You can pull a book off a shelf and it’ll speak to you.
Biography
Straddling the contemporary from an Anglo, Irish, and Indian heritage, John’s writing is direct and human, reflecting the world and people of today. His passion for sharing literature sees him drawing on the whole tradition of poetry and often creating and working in a range of places where you would not expect to find art. He has worked in prisons, schools, and hospitals, and is involved in promoting regeneration and renaissance through the creation of public art. He was recently commissioned to create a poem for Blackpool, which will be permanently installed by the sea. His current commission is from Lancaster University to create a series of portrait poems exploring the immigrant experience in Manchester. John is The British Council's Los Angeles Writer in Residence 2009.
Commonword/BBC Manchester as Poet in Residence 2005
Ilkley Literature Festival as Poet in Residence 2004
HMYOI Wetherby as Writer in Residence 2000 – 03
Ledbury Poetry Festival as Writer in Residence for Young People 2000 – 03
The LOWRY as Poet in residence 2000 – 01
Prestwich NHS Trust as Poet in Residence 2000
Listen to John read an extract from Prism, featured in Unsaid Undone
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Major Commissions
Moving Manchester - a series of portrait poems exploring the immigrant experience, for Lancaster University.
Blackpool - A public poem installed on the promenade by the sea, to be launched TBC
Sedna - BBC Radio, Horae - York Libraries, Available Light - THE LOWRY, Visible Imprints - Commonword/BBC Manchester, Northern Soul – Rainer Wigan,
Body Ornament - Arts Council of England , AND She Was… - A Word In Edgeways Theatre Company
Reviews
‘John Siddique's poetry takes the reader on a journey, crossing the border country between love and loss, he charts his family's untold stories. Interested in exploring opposite worlds and seeming contradictions, his poetry is a brilliant balancing act. Sometimes steamy, often moving, The Prize is a bold, brave book with a big, open heart.’ Jackie Kay
John Siddique's writing is playful and poignant. It explores the complexities of a fragmented world - of sex, family, loss and dream-life - with such clear-eyed, unsentimental candour that I go back to certain poems time and again for another immersion. He's not afraid of writing about love, its pain and rewards, its sudden, shocking forces and darkly funny epiphanies - and his poems demonstrate a generosity and humanity so often lacking in more brittle, defensive writers. Catherine Smith (Next Generation Poet)
John Siddique is a powerful, arresting and provocative new poetic voice, on the page, and off it. He writes with a rare combination of directness, ease, and authority and transports his audience through a gallery of moods and registers in just as wide a range of forms. His work is visceral, sensuous, searing, playful, and deeply moving. Gavin Wallace (Head of Literature - Scottish Arts Council)
John Siddique is one of Britain's most interesting and original poets. He probes the contradictory jumble of contemporary Britain revealing daily heroism and bravery of the urban sprawl that he clearly knows well. Elizabeth Rosa Horan (Professor of English - Arizona State University)
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