John Siddique
Encyclopedia
Personal life
Siddique was born to an Indian Muslim father and an Irish CatholicIrish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
mother, He has said in interviews that he regards his true countries of birth to be 'literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
.' The family struggled with poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
from which the young Siddique sought refuge in the world of books through his local library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
. Before becoming a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
he drifted through a troubled early adult life and various jobs such as being a roadie
Road crew
The road crew are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians...
, a pipe-welder, and landscape gardener. He first began writing in 1991 after discovering the poetry of ee cummings via the Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
film 'Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film which tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begin and end with a family Thanksgiving dinner...
.'
Published works
PoetryFull Blood (SALT 2011)
Recital – An Almanac (SALT 2009)
Blackpool - A Poet’s View (Blackpool Council 2009)
Poems from a Northern Soul (Crocus 2007)
Transparency (as Editor) (Crocus 2006)
The Prize (Rialto 2005)
Short Stories
Four Fathers (Co-author) (ROUTE 2007)
For Children
Don’t Wear It On Your Head (SALT 2010)
Selected Anthologies
New Writing 15 (Granta)
The Fire People (Payback/Canongate)
Velocity (Apples & Snakes/Black Spring)
Masala (MacMillan)
Anthology of British South Asian Poetry (Redbeck)
RED (Peepal Tree)
Life Lines – Poets for Oxfam CD
Residencies
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