John Asfour (Arabic: جون عصفور) was a Lebanese–Canadian poet, writer, and teacher.

At the age of 13, a grenade exploded in his face, blinding him during the Lebanese crisis of 1958.

[3] After receiving his PhD in poetry from McGill University, he spent his career as a professor of literature and resided in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

[4] He was the author of 5 volumes of poetry in English, and two in Arabic, he selected, edited and translated into English the landmark anthology When the Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry and co-authored with his wife and fellow author Alison Burch a volume of selected poems by Muhammad al-Maghut entitled Joy is not my Profession.

[5] Asfour was President of the Canadian Arab Federation from 1996 to 2002, and spoke out against revisions to the anti-terrorism bill C-36 after the September 11 attacks.