Poetic Obituaries: [J.C.] Hall's poetry remained musical,

but developed a relaxed, conversational tone. His voice is distinct; he developed a charming knack of exploring an image, or a situation, and then, in a closing stanza, standing back from it, reflecting instead on the distance he had come since seeing it, or on the nature of poetry itself.

The result reflects a poet with a fine sense of perspective and, as often as not, a reluctance to elevate his own experience as unique, or to take himself too seriously. One example of this is his poem Alfoxton, a powerful and sonorous piece about the house in which Wordsworth lived when befriending Coleridge.

from The Telegraph: J.C. Hall

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