Don't Wear it on Your Head, Don't Stick it Down Your Pants: Poems for Young People - Softcover

John Siddique's poetry has at its heart the themes of communication, storytelling and what it means to be human at this point in time. He is a British poet who gently draws on his Irish and Indian heritage to straddle the complications of today's society. He is author of 'The Prize' (Rialto,) co-author of 'Four Fathers' (ROUTE,) and editor of 'Transparency,' (Crocus Books.) His new book 'Poems from a Northern Soul' will be published this autumn. His poem 'Variola' received a nomination for best single poem for 2004's Forward Prize. His work has also appeared in acclaimed anthologies such as: The Fire People (Canongate,) VELOCITY (Black Spring,) The British Anthology of South Asian Poetry (Redbeck,) Kiss (Crocus,) & many others, in magazines such as The North, Rialto, Fire, and FLUX. He frequently appears on radio, and tours nationally and internationally with his work and his warm, engaging promotion of reading and literature. John is currently working on a tour with Faber & Faber and The Reading Agency, to encourage non poetry readers to take a look at poetry with fresh eyes and ears. He has held residencies and commissions at Commonword, BBC Manchester, The Lowry, Ledbury Festival, and Ilkley Literature Festival. Wetherby Prison won two Koestler Awards for his work during his 3 years as writer there, leading to a commendation by The Prime Minister for John's radical and innovative work with young people. He has recently completed a commission working with under-supported young people for the Rainer Charity, which received national press attention. Throughout his career he has taught and been a mentor at a wide variety of placements including Primary & Secondary Schools, and with organisations such as The Poetry Society, The Barbican, Spread the Word and the Arvon Foundation

This book is a celebration of who we are, good stuff, and not so good, our amazing senses, language, love, gossip, war and cheese. John Siddique's poems blast off the page into real life or they can melt as gently as a snowflake on you tongue. If you've not read a poetry book before then this is the one to start with, and if you have, here we go into a new land. Many of the poems in this book were conceived in primary schools, so John has added special bonus material to help you enjoy reading & writing more, and there is an exclusive interview about what it is to be a poet.