A Poetic Diet

Titled Full Blood,the book,says Siddique,is “spiritual,alive and sexy”. It’s also about reality,love,sexuality,people,the world,and how Siddique wields it all with his pen and verse. If Love Poem exposes him as the hopeful romantic,Every Atom explores the mystery of all things human,while Thirst toys with the idea of love without love. Layered,structured,and wrapped in deep thought,Siddique defines himself as one of those poets,who like to present complicated things in simple ways but with great impact.

Known for his interesting readings,Siddique teaches poetry and creative writing in the UK and other countries,and is the author of Recital – An Almanac,Poems From A Northern Soul,and The Prize. He has also been declared the official poet of city of Los Angeles,USA,by the British Council. He is the resident writer there.

“I come from a poor home that was without books. It was my teacher in school who initiated me into reading,” recollects Siddique. He was born to an Indian Muslim father and Irish Catholic mother in Hebden bridge,also the hometown of poet Ted Hughes. It was the library that was his escape. “I read,I devoured books,literature,anything I could lay my hands on,” says Siddique,who took up odd jobs like pipe welding and landscape gardening before he saw Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters and heard about American poet and author EE Cummings’ works. “I was the black sheep of the family and it was only in 1991 that I started writing,” says Siddique,who visited Jalandhar in 2008 to discover his roots.

“Now I don’t wait for emotional surge to write. I sit at my desk everyday,and pen,constantly,for I am a service provider,” says Siddique,who adds that poetry is the ultimate expression and is closest to the heart,as it speaks “language of the soul.”

Reality is the core and constant of his work. And while his words are simple,it’s the research that emerges in most of his work. For instance,for writing Full Blood,he pored over religious texts,gauged news and observed people in general. “I looked at everyday life,and not the one that is flashed on television and talks of government agendas apart from creating division and fear,” says Siddique,who takes inspiration from,popular American poet Walt Whitman and Chilien poet and politician Pablo Neruda — the people’s poets,who believed in borderless world apart from others like Faiz,Gulzar and the latest French ‘surrealist’ poets.

A writer,thinker,musician and painter,Siddique feels that a poet should be able to breathe life into a piece of art,bare his soul,as only then will people pick it up and read it. “It’s not easy surviving as a poet. One has to create something of value and present it,and the rest is accomplished by word of mouth.”

It pains Siddique that the British government is closing down libraries and churning out consumers and machines instead. “That’s why I came visiting my hometown Jalandhar,to recharge myself,to look for inspiration,peel away the pressure of being a ‘brown skinned’ guy and nourish my soul.” he says.

A notebook,a pen and a cup of freshly brewed black coffee is all he needs to get going. “I am of the world and I shall keep writing till I am alive,” says Siddique,whose children’s book Don’t Wear It On Your Head was shortlisted for the CLPE Poetry Award in 2007.