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Roshan Doug
RoshanDoug (born 10th October, 1963)  is an Anglo-Asian poet and critic. He was born in India (Jalandhar, Punjab) and grew up in Britain. He lives in England and is a research fellow at the University of Birmingham.

Education
After obtaining a BA (Hons.) degree in English from Lancaster University, Doug taught English at Athens University and in private language schools in Athens and Piraeus. He returned to England in 1988 and did an MA in Modern English Literature at Nottingham University (supervised by the Northern Irish poet, Tom Paulin). His research was on the experience of frontline soldiers which culminated in an unpublished thesis The Schizophrenia of Ivor Gurney – a working class, First World War poet from Gloucestershire. During his year at Nottingham, he was also awarded Cripps’ Hall Residential Tutorship.

Since then Doug has worked in private language schools including Marymount International School in Surrey and recently, Oxford Intensive School of English in Oxford (1992-1998) where he has been Course/Academic Director. In the past, he has also lectured in English language and literature at numerous, private schools, colleges and universities in the UK including Solihull Sixth Form College, Sutton Coldfield College and University College, London.

Experience in Theatre & Journalism
During the 1980’s Doug was a member of the Crescent Theatre Company, Birmingham Youth Theatre and, Banner Theatre Company. In 1998 he joined the actors union, Equity and gained his NUJ card in 1999 for his work as a journalist.

Visiting Speaker
In 2002 he was appointed a professor in poetry and poet-in-residence at University of Central England. He has given talks and papers on various topics related to literature/creative writing at Nottingham Trent University, Oxford University, North Wales Institute of Higher Education, Cambridge University, Queen Mary College, London and London School of Economics. And as a former examiner in English for AQA (1998-2001) academic and critic, he is regularly invited to give talks and papers on socio-political-educational issues such as how to incorporate cultural diversity in curriculum planning, the politics of multiculturalism and funding for poetry and the arts in schools and colleges. During the year 2001 – 02 he gave a number of papers– alongside other writers/artists including the playwright, David Edgar – for the National Academy of Writing at UCE and the European Summer School.

Travel
Doug has travelled extensively in South America, Asia and the Far Easton various placements and projects for the British Council and the BBC.

Literary History
His first collection Delusions was published in 1995 which established him in the contemporary British poetry scene. The Socialist Review described him as ‘a refreshingly intelligent new voice in Anglo-Asian literature’. His second collection, The English-knowing Men, was published in 1999 and short listed for the Forward Prize for the Best Collection for that year for its ‘outstanding stylistic versatility and an abundance of rich romantic imagery’.

Themes & reviews
His first book Delusions is an autobiographical collection of poetry and poetic-prose looking at images of time, space, sex and cultural identity.

The English-knowing Men is a phrase taken from one of Gandhi's speeches in which he warned that the real enemy of India will not be the British, after Independence, but 'The English-knowing men', the Anglicized Asians, Indian in appearance but English in terms of outlook. Doug uses this as a springboard to delve into self-exploration and reassesses his position and identity in a bi-cultural environment.

Radio 2 described him as, 'a romantic, speaking softly to his generation' whilst Minerva Press considered his work: 'Highly readable… intelligent, poignant and sensitive'. Prof. Steve Ellis (University of Birmingham) described the poetry as: '. . . touching, witty and compassionate poems from the front-line of multiculturalism, often seen through the eyes of a child, with all of a child's innocence and a child's prejudice; sometimes deep, sometimes tender but always beautiful'.

Brian Keenan said The English-knowing Men is, 'deeply intimate, always reflective. . . a mind constantly shifting underneath the surface of (social aspects) to find both a source and a meaning. I like that kind of a mind.'.

In 2002 the Orange Studio, Birmingham published his autobiographical collection, No, I am Not Prince Hamlet. Its launch was webcast in collaboration with the BBC, Mailbox.

His volume of elegies, The Delicate Falling of a God (2003), was inspired by the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001 sponsored by the University of Central England.

The issues of ethnicity, culture and sexual politics are interwoven in these thematically linked collections that contain a kaleidoscope of thoughts and images, creating a voice that is soft and vibrant.

His latest book, a collection of love poems, What Light is Light... is published by the University of Birmingham (2011).

Commissions
Doug is a member of the poetryclass run by the Poetry Society of Great Britain, through which he works with pupils and staff on INSET training, and. He has also been a poet-in-residence at The Rep. (Birmingham, 2001-2002) having been commissioned to write for various productions including Abigail’s Party (2003) and The Birthday Party (2004). He has worked with the Barbican, London along with Jackie Kay and Michael Rosen (Jack and the Beanstalk, 2007). He was appointed Birmingham Poet Laureate in 2001 and became the first Asian to hold a laureateship in Britain. This accolade has seen him produce a number of high profile commissioned poems for organisations such as the National Gallery, the Central Library, Birmingham, BBC Children in Need (2001), Waterhall Gallery in Birmingham, USA Embassy, Indian High Commission, Rover, Longbridge and, Buckingham Palace, for the Queen’s 75th birthday. Doug has appeared at a number of book festivals including the Hay-on-Wye, Cheltenham Literary Festival and the Ledbury Poetry Festival where he continues to work as a schools’ poet along with children’s poets such as Brian Moses, Simon Pitt and Wes McGee. He has also worked and read with Simon Armitage, Sean O’Brien, Jo Shapcote and Andrew Motion on promoting poetry in the communities as well as contributing to the discourse about the nature and politics of teaching poetry in the classroom. Along with many other artists and critics, he has openly criticized Michael Gove’s recent proposal to revamp the National Curriculum (http://blogs.birminghampost.net/news/2012/06/dear-mr-gove.html#more).