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Sameer Rahim

The Arts Agenda

An interview with Geoffrey Hill (1932-2016)

Geoffrey Hill, who died in June, believed in expressiveness not self-expression

by Sameer Rahim / July 20, 2016 / Leave a comment
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Geoffrey Hill being knighted by The Princess Royal in 2012 ©Dominic Lipinski/PA

Geoffrey Hill being knighted by The Princess Royal in 2012 ©Dominic Lipinski/PA

On 29th November 2013, I interviewed the poet Geoffrey Hill for the Telegraph. Hill, who died on 30th June at the age of 84, was one of our great post-war poets—one with a deep understanding of the complexity of English history, faith and language. The occasion of the interview was the publication of Hill’s complete poems, Broken Hierarchies. The published interview had, necessarily, to cut out much interesting material, especially about Hill’s childhood in the Midlands, and his friendships with poets such as RS Thomas. Since his death, a number of people have asked for a transcript of the interview, which is published in edited form below. Also present was the poet’s wife, the priest and librettist Alice Goodman. We spoke at the Rectory in Fulbourn, near Cambridge.

Sameer Rahim: You are the son of a police constable. That heritage means a lot to you, doesn’t it?

Geoffrey Hill: Yes, it does. And of course the book [Broken Hierarchies] is dedicated to the memory of my father and mother. And also to the memory of an aunt I never knew. She had in fact died about 20 years before I was born. She died at the age of 15. She was my father’s beloved sister who had taken care of him after his mother died. And then she herself died with what was called then tuberculous meningitis. She was a very gifted artist, in a strictly academic way. That is to say she was absolutely splendid at doing the k…

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Comments

  1. Isa F.
    July 22, 2016 at 15:15
    Enjoyed reading this interview. Geoffrey Hill's account of how he was first introduced to poetry via Palgrave's Golden Treasury was touching and somehow unexpected, while his remarks about other writers such as Chinua Achebe were interesting. Have to admit I've never been able to connect with his poetry; but anyone who loves the work of R.S. Thomas is worth another go.
  2. Henry Tapper
    November 27, 2016 at 08:06
    Thanks for this article. There was a lugubriousness playfulness in Geoffrey Hill's poetry which his students got much pleasure from. I remember a 9am lecture where Hill arrived in his usual severe black garb and opened; "I am struck by the ineluctable modality of existence". That was as good as a cup of strong coffee! I am sorry to hear that he is dead and will buy his collected poems,

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Sameer Rahim
Sameer Rahim is Prospect's Managing Editor (Arts & Books)
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