John Temple was born in 1942 in Stockton-on-Tees and grew up in the East Midlands and the Northeast. After reading English at Caius College, Cambridge (1961-64) he spent two years of postgraduate study and teaching in the USA. Since 1970 he has lived in Flanders, Belgium, teaching at the University of Ghent (1970-90) and Erasmushogeschool, Brussels (1990-98).
