Synopses & Reviews
This first selection of Geoffrey Hill’s poetry charts the evolution of a complex, uncompromising, visionary body of work over fifty years. It includes poems from Hill’s astonishing debut, For the Unfallen (“A powerful book . . . Ornate, rhetorical, thematically and stylistically ambitious.”— Guardian), through the verset-sequence Mercian Hymns, to acclaimed recent work, including The Orchards of Syon and Without Title. Critics have observed that the poet’s lines are imbued with the consciousness of the weight of history, morality, and language. John Hollander writes of Hill’s poems that they immerse themselves “in the matters of stones and rock, of permanence and historical change, martyrdoms and mockeries, and above all history and the monuments and residua of its consequences in places, things, and persons.” The appearance of Selected Poems marks a major publishing event.
Review
“Hill is without question the strongest British poet currently writing, and his
Selected Poems is an import of significance for American readers.”
—The New Republic
Synopsis
Geoffrey Hills poetry comprises one of the most uncompromising and visionary bodies of work written over the last fifty years. Imbued with the weight of history, morality, and language, his work reveals a deeply religious sensibility, a towering intellect, and an emotional complexity that are unrivaled in contemporary letters. Now, for the first time ever, readers can observe in one volume how Hills style took shape over time. This generous selection spans his career, beginning with poems from Hills astonishing debut, For the Unfallen, and following through to his stylistically distinct and critically acclaimed work Without Title. Including some of the poets strongest, most sensitive, and most brilliant pieces, this collection will reaffirm Hills reputation as “Englands best hope for the Nobel Prize.”
Synopsis
A sampling from the oeuvre of one of the greatest living poets of the English language
Geoffrey Hill's poetry comprises one of the most uncompromising and visionary bodies of work written over the last fifty years. Imbued with the weight of history, morality, and language, his work reveals a deeply religious sensibility, a towering intellect, and an emotional complexity that are unrivaled in contemporary letters. Now, for the first time ever, readers can observe in one volume how Hill's style took shape over time. This generous selection spans his career, beginning with poems from Hill's astonishing debut, For the Unfallen, and following through to his stylistically distinct and critically acclaimed work Without Title. Including some of the poet's strongest, most sensitive, and most brilliant pieces, this collection will reaffirm Hill's reputation as "England's best hope for the Nobel Prize."
Synopsis
Geoffrey Hill's poetry comprises one of the most uncompromising and visionary bodies of work written over the last fifty years. Imbued with the weight of history, morality, and language, his work reveals a deeply religious sensibility, a towering intellect, and an emotional complexity that are unrivaled in contemporary letters. Now, for the first time ever, readers can observe in one volume how Hill's style took shape over time. This generous selection spans his career, beginning with poems from Hill's astonishing debut, "For the Unfallen," and following through to his stylistically distinct and critically acclaimed work "Without Title," Including some of the poet's strongest, most sensitive, and most brilliant pieces, this collection will reaffirm Hill's reputation as "England's best hope for the Nobel Prize."
About the Author
Geoffrey Hill is the author of eleven books of poetry. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Hawthornden Prize, the Heinemann Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, and the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize. He resides in Cambridge, England.