John Siddique (born July 1964) is a spiritual teacher, poet, and author. Siddique has had nine books published and his teachings and writings have featured in Time Magazine, The Guardian, Granta, on CNN and the BBC. The Times of India called him "Rebellious by nature, pure at heart." The Spectator 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 speaks of Siddique's writing as being "A brilliant balancing act." Siddique is the Honorary Fellow in Creative Writing at Leicester University. He is the former Laureate of the British city of Canterbury, and British Council Poet in Residence at California State University, Los Angeles. From 2013 to 2015 he was the Royal Literary Fund (RLF) Fellow at York St. John University and is currently a commissioning editor for the RLF's WritersMosaic initiative.

Personal life

Siddique was born in Rochdale, 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. He first began writing in 1991 after reading James Joyce's Ulysses and discovering the poetry of e.e. cummings, Walt Whitman, and D. H. Lawrence. Siddique has stated in interviews that he regards his true countries of birth to be "literature and language".

Published works

Non-Fiction Poetry Short stories For children Selected anthologies Prizes, awards and honours Residencies