Policing her patch?
 

Hey, folks,

So it's Hill v. Duffy in the lightning round. Seems like a variant of the 'many things in few words' argument, with a modern take. I have no idea what 'policing her patch' means. Perhaps our British friends could enlighten us? Nor have I ever seen a Mills & Boon text, so I'm missing some nuance.

But the lecture did contain this little gem: "Poetry is lines in depth designed to be seen in relation or in deliberate disrelation to lines above and below."

On the lighter side: as deliberate provocations go, it's hard to beat describing someone else's language as "cast-off bits of oligarchical commodity English..." ;)

There must be some subtext here I'm not getting, but it's an interesting read.

Thanks,

Bill

I suppose it could mean something like guarding your own territory, or tending your own garden. I dunno.

Richard

I think it's pretty obvious in content. Much as I'd like to think there's a second, raunchier meaning, I think all it means is what Richard pointed out - she's protecting her own position.

For balance, here's Bill Coyle's take on Geoffrey Hill's latest book. I respect Coyle's poetry, and I'm inclined to believe his criticism.

If Hill thinks Duffy is too easy, um, perhaps Hill has an odd idea of what people understand.

Hill's main criticism of Duffy is spelled out more clearly in the first few paragraphs of this Telegraph article, where she is basically being accused of dumbing poetry down.

It's the British equivalent of the Dove/Vendler debate.

Duncan

Hear Hill's whole lecture HERE.

Is Hill on Facebook? We want to know.

"policing her patch" isn't an expression I'd often use, or have seen used, but like Richard I take it to mean something like "laying down the law for her parish/turf/bailywick."
At least he recognises the validity of diverse poetic territories.

Hill sounds like a terrible snob, or a delightful old nut, it's hard to say which on the papers. I'm glad to know about Coyle, though.

Ed

Mary - thank you for the link. What a joy!

You're welcome, Annie! I've had a chance to listen to half of it so far - it's wonderful!!! I've been trying to take notes - I think I got this right - when he rhapsodized about the word "treasured" in Duffy's The Christmas Truce, he said:

For an instant, the poem seems to hover over itself, as if aware of itself, as a well-struck thing resonating.

Two more quotes I love:

My clown’s rule is to exasperate.

The basic fact to be understood about this strange art, is that it is an art of invention. Rhyme stimulates one to invent even more wildly.