Philip Hobsbaum
Philip Hobsbaum was an influential English poet, critic, and educator, born on June 29, 1932, in London. He grew up in a Jewish family sensitive to the rising anti-Semitism of the time and later moved to Yorkshire, where he engaged with local theater and literature. Hobsbaum attended Downing College, Cambridge, where he was influenced by notable critics and poets, editing the literary journal Delta and organizing workshops for emerging writers, including Ted Hughes and Thom Gunn. In 1959, he began his Ph.D. studies at Sheffield, continuing to shape literary communities through his initiative known as The Group, which provided a platform for poets to share and critique each other's work. Throughout his career, he held academic positions at Queens University Belfast and the University of Glasgow, where he contributed to the establishment of creative writing programs. Although his own poetry publications slowed after 1972, Hobsbaum became recognized for his critical works, significantly impacting literary scholarship. He passed away on June 28, 2005, leaving behind a legacy marked by his contributions to poetry and literary criticism.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Philip Hobsbaum
- Born: June 29, 1932
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: June 28, 2005
- Place of death: Glasgow, Scotland
Biography
Philip Hobsbaum was born on June 29, 1932, in London, England, to Rachel Sapera and Joseph Hobsbaum. His parents were Orthodox Jews and were extremely sensitive to the anti-Semitism sweeping the world at this time. In 1937, the family moved to Yorkshire, where Hobsbaum studied at Bellevue Grammar School in Bradford. He was active in a local theater group and debated with the Jewish Society during his years in Yorkshire.
Upon leaving school, he worked for two years for the Ministry of National Insurance and began writing poetry. He furthered his education by attending lectures at Leeds University and was particularly impressed with the critic G. Wilson Knight. He next attended Downing College, Cambridge University, where he studied with the famous critic F. R. Leavis; Hobsbaum considered Leavis to be one of the greatest men he ever met. While at Cambridge, Hobsbaum edited the literary journal, Delta. In addition, he arranged writer’s workshops for poets, including such rising stars as Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn, and Peter Redgrove. Hobsbaum received his B.A. from Cambridge in 1955 and earned an M.A. from that university in 1960.
In 1955, Hobsbaum moved to London, where he worked as a teacher until 1959. Most significantly, while in London he started what became known as The Group, a series of meetings at his home for rising poets who would read their work and endure stiff criticism from their peers. When Hobsbaum chose to begin work on a Ph.D. in Sheffield in 1959, The Group continued to meet in London with poet Edward Lucie-Smith.
At Sheffield, Hobsbaum studied with poet and critic William Empson, earning his degree in 1968. In 1963, he and Lucie-Smith edited a collection of poems written by members of their writing group, A Group Anthology. Hobsbaum began his academic career in 1962 when he was appointed to a position at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He started a group there as well, and poets such as Derek Mahon and Seamus Haney were active in his workshops. In 1964, he published his first collection of poetry, The Place’s Fault, followed by In Retreat, and Other Poems, Coming out Fighting, and Women and Animals. He did not publish any other poetry collections after the latter volume was released in 1972.
In 1966, Hobsbaum accepted a position at the University of Glasgow. Again, he established a vital literary community comprised of writers such as Alasdair Gray, Liz Lochead, and James Kelman. This group continued to meet until 1975. In 1985, he became a professor of English literature at the University of Glasgow, and in 1995 he was instrumental in establishing an M.Litt. program in creative writing there. He retired in 1997. Hobsbaum died from complications of diabetes on June 28, 2005.
Hobsbaum’s contributions to literature are manifold. Although his poetic output diminished dramatically while in Glasgow, he established himself as one of the most important literary critics of his day, producing benchmark texts such as A Theory of Communication, Tradition and Experiment in English Poetry, and Essentials of Literary Criticism, and Metre, Rhythm, and Verse Form. Moreover, his establishment of various incarnations of The Group allowed him to foster some of the most important poetic voices of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.