For decades, scholars have been describing Hill as the best living British poet, so it is strange how few people seem to know his work. The standard explanation for this is that he is difficult. Being difficult, his harshest critics go on to call him an elitist and hence, in an ugly leap that usually involves dragging in Ezra Pound, a bit of a fascist. Attacks of this sort have built a firewall between the poet and his potential readership…
Source: New Statesman.
In my first semester as a tenure-track English professor, my chairman asked me to represent our department at a weekend recruiting fair for high-school seniors. My job would be to court prospective majors. Knowing that “yes” was the right pre-tenure answer, I agreed, and so found myself that next Saturday morning standing behind a folding table, cheap brochures littered on its brown surface. I was irritable, hung over, and resentful.
A father and son immediately appeared, in virginal Wake Forest T-shirts and blond crew cuts. They smiled at me as if I had just praised their promptness. The younger looked up at dad, and father nodded to son, and son blurted: “Sell me the English major!” Through my brain’s murk, I searched for the hype. Failing to find it, I confessed: “It makes you weird.”
Thanks to everyone at the symposium yesterday, particularly our guest, David Belbin, who read from his work and gave us some useful insights into the publishing business. His website is here.
David was in on the validation of the MA and has been our External Examiner since its inception. He’s now finished his stint. Extra thanks to him from Phil and me.
Hot Key Books has launched a free interactive writing project, “Fleur Hitchcock’s Story Adventure”, which is aimed at children aged 7-11 years, to help author Hitchcock write the sequel to her novel SHRUNK!
The project will run between 21st January and 13th May 2013, and will be hosted on a secure site through www.thestoryadventure.com. Children can register to take part from 11th December, read Hitchcock’s prologue for the book and put forward ideas for the title. Hitchcock will then post her first chapter on 21st January 2013 and invite children to answer questions and complete off-screen activities.
The best ideas will be incorporated into the following chapter, with a new chapter uploaded every Monday until 13th May 2013. The final book is due for publication in January 2014.
Source: The Bookseller.
Family plug: Clockwise to Titan.