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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National

What an English degree did for me, by Tulip Siddiq, Sarah Waters and more

Clockwise from top left: Andrew O’Hagan, Jeffrey Boakye, Alexandra Chesterfield, Sarah Waters and Tulip Siddiq.
Clockwise from top left: Andrew O’Hagan, Jeffrey Boakye, Alexandra Chesterfield, Sarah Waters and Tulip Siddiq. Photograph: Surovtseva/Getty Images/iStockphoto

I love words. I’ve always loved reading. I’m fascinated by narrative and the shape of stories, and how literature can be used to express the breadth and depth of human experiences.

None of the above is particularly surprising. I’ve turned writing into a career, fuelled by reading and the intellectual journeys that come in tow. Like you, like everyone, there are many different things that I could have done and a variety of skills that I could have explored. But my bookish tendencies led me on a literary path as I slalomed through school, GCSEs, A-levels, and eventually undergraduate studies in English, at university.

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