Alan originates from the English/Welsh borders and has travelled extensively and worked in jobs ranging from renovating old graveyards to working in a jellybean factory. He began writing while living and working in Botswana where he met his Canadian wife to be and he arrived in Canada in 2005.
"The Broken Word" is Alan Hill's second full collection of poetry. His first poetry collection "The Upstairs Country" has enjoyed national and international sales. His poetry has also appeared in Canada in “CV2”, “Canadian Literature”, “Vancouver Review”, “Antigonish Review”, “Quills”, “Sub-Terrain”, “Poetry is Dead”; in the UK in “South”, “The Wolf ”and “Turbulence”; and in the United States in “The Dallas Review” and in a number of international anthologies.
Alan is a Past Director on the Executive Board of the Federation of BC Writers, a member of The Royal City Literary Arts Society and features at many literary events in the Lower Mainland of BC.
In this book, the author delves deeply into the Psychogeography of his home City. He is engaged in an active exploration of his urban environment and a study of how our geographical location influences our emotional behaviour. He has stepped off the predictable path and into the dense undergrowth of our urban awareness.
Alan Hill takes us through the dark underworld of growing up with his brother's mental illness and its effects on the family unit. Vivid imagery and vibrant metaphors and energy pulsate on every page. You ARE there!
Alan Hill is a fresh new voice on Vancouver's poetry scene. Imaginative and dryly comic poems depicting the journey of a man who somehow arrived in early middle age and wondered: How on earth did I get here? This book won't disappoint. It is alive from beginning to end with captivating poetry.