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Geoffrey Hill has been appointed Oxford Professor of Poetry, beating other contenders including poet Michael Horovitz, biographer Roger Lewis and South African poet Chris Mann by a “landslide”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jun/18/oxford-professor-poetry-geof... target="_blank">The Guardian reported on Friday (18th June) that Hill won with 1,156 votes. Last year Ruth Padel was elected into the position on 297 votes, the first female to take the role, but http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/may/27/ruth-padel-smear-email" target="_blank">resigned after nine days after it emerged she had http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23698409-revealed-ruth-pa... target="_blank">emailed journalists highlighting allegations of sexual harassment made against her rival Derek Walcott.
Dr Seamus Perry, deputy chair of Oxford's English faculty board, which hosts the chair, said: "We are glad that so many people wanted to vote under the new arrangements for the election of the Professor of Poetry; and are simply delighted that a poet of Geoffrey Hill's eminence has emerged victorious.
"Besides being a great poet, he is also a critic and lecturer of great distinction and we look forward to his lectures over the next few years as the 44th Professor of Poetry."
Hill, born in 1932, has been awarded several accolades in his lifetime, including the Faber Memorial Prize and most recently, the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism.