HILARY JANE HUGHES AUTHOR PROFILE
I’m a teacher and author, wife, mum and grandma living in North Yorkshire. I am fortunate to have a great family and network of friends and writers who encourage my work.
I have two published poetry collections: HIT THE GROUND RUNNING (O&U 2013) and GASP! (Sacristy 2018) and have contributed to various collections /publications over the recent past.
One of my goals is to try and dispel negative myths about poetry as a genre, and to encourage people to express themselves through the creative arts.
How and when do I write? Often by night, as sleep evades me, but not exclusively so.
Sometimes writing pours out of me and I cannot get it down fast enough; other times, the words come slowly but surely, and sometimes, I set myself challenges to write on topics I know little about and therefore have to research carefully, - such as aspects of the Holocaust in my piece, ‘Silent Spaces of Berlin’. There is ALWAYS something to write about!
What do I write about?
PLACE: Each place I write about draws on natural perceptions: colours or weather or time of day, or activity observed, but, each of these in turn reveals layers of meaning and connection which speak not only to me at the time, but to others. Both the well-travelled and those who have never been to the places I explore can understand the mood, or imagine or muse with me, the writer, as if looking at a picture. Examples might be ‘Bangkok Storm’ or ‘My Skye’.
PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIPS: These are real people, such as ‘Mandela’ and a girl in ‘Syrian Cry’ but also imaginary, such as in my poem, ‘Rory’. Childhood hopes and fears are represented, alongside Bible characters, responses to current affairs and issues, dementia, childlessness, death. Also the joy of life - the anticipation and realisation of being a grandparent, imagined stories behind faces etc. Everyone has value, feelings, hopes … and fears … All our perceptions, understanding and interaction with the natural world come because someone introduced us to them. I try to say how things, events and behaviour strike me, or how I imagine they may might be for someone else. My poems also explore some of the hurts that life throws at us all from time to time, and the possibility of God being involved in the subsequent healing process.
NATURE AND MUSE: Of course there is overlap between pieces, but here my writing is less rooted in place, more in timeless spaces and opportunities; questions, reflections ... intimate, close-up observations and ‘ordinary’ activities such as in ’Picking Blackberries’! Then, there’s the intrigue of flying over unknown territory or musing on the sea at night or a landscape in the grip of Winter. I reflect on the opportunities we have and the often mixed motives that accompany them, the ongoing challenges of anxiety and insomnia but also the space to begin again.
If you want to take a closer look at my work, go to my website: hilaryjanewordpainter.com; ask me questions there; I’m very happy to meet other writers, run workshops and/or speak at events. It would be wonderful to sell more books too, of course!
What people say:
‘… (Hilary) combines meticulous, painterly observation and questioning contemplation … this is attentive writing, and (her) descriptions and meditations train a parallel attentiveness in the reader paying it attention.’ JOHN MOSS in THE READER, Summer 2019
‘(Hilary has) … wonderful gifts of insight, empathy and compassion.’ PAM RHODES, Author and Broadcaster
