WRITING NEWS

Canterbury Poetry City
I have been asked to be Canterbury's Poet in October and the brief is to make the city my canvas. 'The streets would be beautifully inscribed, blank walls and shop windows would display verse, trees would hold ribbons printed with lines of poetry. I'll be wandering with the crowd gathering and recording from both visitors and the inhabitants of the city a word here, a thought or an impression there, which I will then weave together into a Poem that is truly of, for and by the citizens of the City. The poem will then be projected onto the walls of the Westgate Towers and would greet visitors as they arrive in the town for the Festival.

Manchester Literature Festival/Art Gallery Commission
I am current writing a series of poems to be premiered during the 2010 Manchester Literature Festival, There will also be a weekend poetry workshop at Manchester Art Gallery using Pilkington's wonderful Lancastrian pottery as an inspiration, plus poetry by Keats, Neruda and Koch.

Sacrament of Marriage
I was commissioned to write a piece to accompany an exhibition at Cartwright Hall in Bradford, and a series of performances by The Northern School of Contemporary Dance as part of London 2012 Open Weekend. The exhibition continues until Sept 5th.


Bradford Peace Museum
I was asked to write a piece for Bradford peace museum on the idea of peace coming from strength, particularly looking at Henry VIII attempts to make peace with France on The Field of The Cloth of Gold.

If you are a fan of my books please post my viral book ad around the place http://tinyurl.com/book ad


Here is a clip of me chatting with singer Cerys Matthews about Ted Hughes and Shamanic Poetry

Ulysses
My piece on Joyce's Ulysses and its place in my life is online at the mighty NormBlog

MISCELLANEOUS

Readings:
I am are keen to add more events leading from my new book where we can create beautiful presentations in great surroundings. If you would like to recommend us to a promoter or venue please feel free to have them contact us for more information. Details of upcoming events are on the readings page.


Schools
I am happy to book sessions in for the new school year and beyond. If you represent a school and would like a visit for a reading or workshop, please get in touch sooner rather than later as things tend to book up fast

PUBLICATION NEWS

Recital - An Almanac,' Salt's NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER is available as a paperback and as an AudioBook. Consistent sales mean that it is one of the bestelling poetry books out there. Grab a copy and see why.

There has been a lot of interest in the book from Reading Groups and Younger readers at colleges and universities so we have created a reading group guide for Recital, to aid discussion of the book.

Find a poem from 'Recital' in Spanish over at Cicloliterario magazine.

‘Don’t Wear it On Your Head,’ My book for children is available at Amazon, and in the shops, and is published by Salt.

Salt have produced a wonderful poster poem from the book as an educational resource.. Contact Salt if you would like a poster for your classroom, library etc.

'The Prize' is available from The Rialto in a great new edition with a beautiful colour cover (The first edition had a black and white image.)

MAGAZINES ETC..

'A Place of Silence,' a major poem from my next collection, appears in the 25th Anniversary Edition of THE RIALTO. God Bless The Rialto and all who sail in this wonderful magazine.

'Every Atom' my poem from The Sacrament of Marriage Exhibition & Dance Collaboration appears in the Autumn issue of Poetry Review along with photos of the performance. This poem is also the prologue to my next book 'Full Blood.'

'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