/ Faculty Obituaries / A Legendary Poet

Geoff rey Hill, lauded for his deep and complex verse | BY MARA SASSOON

Sir Geoff rey Hill’s poetry— was the original Oxford University in 1953, often called “allusive” for its idea, 20 years ago, where he earned a degree esoteric religious, philosoph- for an Editorial in English and had his fi rst ical, and historical referenc- Institute to award work published by the poet es—earned him reverence degrees, doctoral and literary critic Donald in the literary community. and master’s, in Hall. After graduation, he Nicholas Lezard, a critic for editorial studies,” taught at the University The Guardian, hailed him says Ricks. of Leeds until 1980, when as “the greatest living poet Hill was known he completed a yearlong in the history of the English for his turns of Churchill Scholarship at the language” in a 2001 review phrases and quick University of Bristol. He was of Hill’s long poem Speech! humor in every- then a lecturer at Emmanuel Speech! and in a 2013 review day conversation. College, Cambridge. of his collection Broken Hier- Ricks says his In 1988, he moved to the archies: Poems 1952–2012. favorite anecdote United States when he ac- Hill, 84, a University Pro- is when Hill “was cepted a professorship at fessor emeritus and a College asked how he felt BU, where he taught for 18 of Arts & Sciences professor about a critic’s years. His multidisciplinary emeritus of literature and having won a prize expertise—he taught courses religion, died on June 30, for an essay on his not only on poetry, but also 2016, the same day his new work. He said, ‘Ask on 17th-century politics and translation of Henrik Ibsen’s the horse how he theology—brought him to Peer Gynt was published. Geoff rey Hill’s work was feels when the jockey wins the distinguished faculty of Bruce Redford, a CAS his- wide-ranging in form the race.’” Hill published UNI, which aimed to “build tory of art and architecture and style, from devo- many books of criticism: bridges between disciplines,” professor, and a director of tional poetry to prose The Lords of Limit: Essays and allowed students to the University Professors poetry, from rhyming to on Literature and Ideas create and graduate with program, which was closed free verse. (1984), The Enemy’s Coun- interdisciplinary degrees. in 2011, says Hill “resembled try: Words, Contexture, During his time at BU, both Jonathan Swift and and Other Circumstances of Hill published many poetry W. B. Yeats.” Like Swift, the poet Carl Phillips Language (1991), Style and collections, among them he says, “satire and proph- (GRS’93), a former student, Faith (2003), and Collected Canaan (1996), awarded ecy, humor and anger, were published in the Paris Critical Writings (2008), BU’s 1998 Kahn Award; The complexly intertwined in his Review, Hill said, “I think which won the Truman Triumph of Love (1998), extraordinary work. That art has a right—not an Capote Award for Literary which earned the Inger- work reached an autumnal obligation—to be diffi cult if Criticism. soll Foundation T. S. Eliot fl owering during his years it wishes. And, since people He often spoke “in a serio- Award for Creative Writing; at BU—a fl owering that generally go on from this comic tone that his friends and The Orchards of Syon resembles, in its vitality to talk about elitism versus and admirers were prone (2002), which was shortlist- and variety, the achieve- democracy, I would add that to call ‘Hill-arious,’” says ed for the T. S. Eliot Prize. ment of Yeats in old age.” genuinely diffi cult art is Redford. “In person and In 1996, Hill was elected Hill’s work was wide-rang- truly democratic.” on the page, Geoff rey re- to the American Academy of ing in form and style, from In 1999 he cofounded sembled an Old Testament Arts & Sciences. devotional poetry to prose BU’s Editorial Institute with prophet—but, unlike Jer- He retired in 2006, and poetry, from rhyming to free Christopher Ricks, BU’s Wil- emiah, he allowed himself moved back to England. In verse. Some critics pointed liam M. and Sara B. Warren to be teased, at least on occa- 2010, he accepted a four-year to a sense of exclusivity to Professor of the Humanities, sion, by lesser mortals.” term as professor of poetry his poetry that resulted from whom he knew from his days Born in Bromsgrove, Wor - at the University of Oxford, its notorious complexity. as a lecturer at the Univer- cestershire, England, in and in 2012 he was knighted

BU PHOTOGRAPHY In a 2000 interview with sity of Cambridge. “His 1932, Hill graduated from for his services to literature.

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