Cheap Speech! Speech! (Book) (Geoffrey Hill) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Speech! Speech!

a difficult customer
I think this book is aggressively critical in tone. In it, the author has a succession of negative things to say about the modern world. He especially does not like the media. He criticises musical forms like rap which he does not seem to know very much about. On the other hand, the book has quite a lot of memorable phrases, and sometimes it can make you laugh. It is the kind of book which leaves the reader with very mixed feelings.

---

difficult genius
The man is brilliant, but so difficult to get through. I would suggest having a handy reference section nearby. He has a beautiful way with words. The current volume is one long poem, divided into sections (in a similar way to "The Triumph of Love").

Hill will definitely become more widely appreciated as time wears on...

---

A deep, disturbing work of poetry
Geoffrey Hill is truly a poet's poet. His work is highly intellectual, peppered with references, and tersely worded. Behind the imposing verbal front, however, one finds a vast expanse of wry, analytical intelligence and an immense compassion for his fellow man. "Speech! Speech!" is Hill's newest book, which he describes as his "Inferno"; with his usual erudition and wit (as well as a fair amount of introspection), Hill examines the state of the media in today's world, and his relationship to it. His words tear through such topics as the death of Princess Diana, the BBC in his childhood, and the prevelence of rap. "Speech! Speech!" is a volume both of dissent and of hope; at times brutally honest, unbearably ugly, it is at the same time a testament to the redeeming and timeless power of poetry.