Background
Robert Hilles was born on November 13, 1951, in Kenora, Ontario, Canada. He is the son of Austin Edwin Hilles and Hazel (Holmes) Hilles. From an early age, his mother instilled in Robert a love of poetry and music.
1994
Robert Hilles with Marty Gervais Gervais and John B. Lee in Charlottetown, 1994.
2017
Robert Hilles in Fulford on August 4, 2017.
2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
The University of Calgary where Robert Hilles received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees.
Robert Hilles with Ken McGoogan at WGA awards in 1994.
Robert Hilles
Robert Hilles's father on Smith farm in the 1940s.
(Raising of Voices consists of a series of prose pieces th...)
Raising of Voices consists of a series of prose pieces that form the loose narrative following one family's journey through madness and alcoholism to love. Daniel's world is torn apart first by his father's drinking and then by his mother's madness. But through all the terror and pain an understanding begins to be shaped. Set in the bush near Kenora, Ontario, the landscape is a haunting presence throughout the book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887532721/?tag=2022091-20
1993
(In his seventh book of poetry, Hillies describes his feel...)
In his seventh book of poetry, Hillies describes his feelings of affection and admiration for his mother-in-law, and the sense of loss the family experienced upon her death of cancer in her middle years.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0919897371/?tag=2022091-20
1993
(Robert Hilles has returned with a new book of odes, deali...)
Robert Hilles has returned with a new book of odes, dealing with ordinary things surrounding his life. They cover everything from war to love, drawing you into their fresh intimacies with the world.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887532977/?tag=2022091-20
1997
(Wrapped Within Again: New and Selected features a major s...)
Wrapped Within Again: New and Selected features a major selection of poems from his previous eleven books of poetry, as well a generous number of new poems. For the first time in one volume, readers may enjoy the best poems spanning his career to date. These poems are at times philosophical, tender, and sensual. His poetry always strives to find light in the darkest of subjects.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887533841/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(In this important book - part memoir and part lament for ...)
In this important book - part memoir and part lament for the wild - Robert Hilles investigates what we mean by the word "wild" in a world where it is a rapidly depleting commodity. Drawing extensively from his northern Ontario childhood, Calling the Wild is about a time when it was still possible to believe the wilderness mattered. Northern Ontario is game country and for over century has been a magnet to hunting and fishing enthusiasts. Through the memories of his parents and friends Hilles takes us back to the time when fish and game were plentiful and when SUVs didn't hunt the backcountry. He also focuses on his family's experiences living with the wilderness still very present.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887534112/?tag=2022091-20
2005
(In his book of poetry Partake, Robert Hilles writes frank...)
In his book of poetry Partake, Robert Hilles writes frankly about the death of his younger brother from cancer. He travels to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to grieve and heal and through these poems, we see East meeting West. Partake chronicles the power of family and the spiritual journey from loss to renewal. In Partake, Robert Hilles proves himself to be a poet of bluntness and deep feelings. He writes about the untimely death of his younger brother with arresting, tactile metaphors and a sense of sorrow that spans mere distance and becomes a series of sunken islands and stark mountain peaks. He writes about several different deaths here, the death of innocence primary amongst them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887534740/?tag=2022091-20
2010
(Robert Hilles' book of poetry, time lapse, refuses to sta...)
Robert Hilles' book of poetry, time lapse, refuses to stay in one place, or indeed, in one time. From the streets of Chiang Mai, Thailand, to recollections of building a romance, Hilles pitches us backward into childhood anecdotes of an uncle with a glass eye and family lost in the fog. The poems in Time Lapse are like memories, fleeting, specific and ever-changing, at once in the present, past, and future.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887534945/?tag=2022091-20
2012
Robert Hilles was born on November 13, 1951, in Kenora, Ontario, Canada. He is the son of Austin Edwin Hilles and Hazel (Holmes) Hilles. From an early age, his mother instilled in Robert a love of poetry and music.
Hilles studied at the University of Calgary, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and English in 1976. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Educational Psychology, earned at the university in 1985.
Living in Calgary, Robert Hilles had been engaged in writing for over 30 years and had been the Managing Editor of Dandelion Magazine for ten years. He developed the magazine from a small pamphlet to one of the most respected literary magazines in Canada. During that time he also organized many successful readings featuring writers from across the country. Robert Hilles also taught computer programming in Calgary, Alberta.
His first collection of poetry, Look the Lovely Animal Speaks, appeared in 1980. Some of Hilles’ poetry other titles include Outlasting the Landscape, Finding the Landscape, and Raising of Voices. He is also the author of several non-poetry titles, including Near Morning, a book of short fiction. He contributed poetry and fiction to anthologies, including Ride Off Any Horizon, Ride Off Any Horizon II, Anthology of Magazine Verse & Yearbook of American Poetry, A Discord of Flags: Canadian Poets Write About the Persian Gulf War, Snapshots: The New Canadian Fiction, Boundless Alberta, and That Sign of Perfection.
He served on the executive of the League of Canadian Poets for five years and in 1996 was sent by the League of Canadian Poets and the Department of Foreign Affairs to represent Canada at an International Poetry Festival in Japan. In 2001 he has moved to the west coast and lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
His other books include Finding The Lights On, Near Morning, Nothing Vanishes, Kissing The Smoke, Breathing Distance, Somewhere Between Obstacles and Pleasure, Higher Ground, Wrapped Within Again, Slow Ascent, Partake, and Time Lapse. In 2018 he published a book Line. He has recently completed a novel set in Thailand called, Don’t Hang Your Soul On That and he's working on a new poetry book tentatively called, One of Not Many, and a second novel set in Thailand called One True Note. Robert's new book of autumn 2019 is Shimmer.
(In his seventh book of poetry, Hillies describes his feel...)
1993(In this important book - part memoir and part lament for ...)
2005(Wrapped Within Again: New and Selected features a major s...)
2003(Raising of Voices consists of a series of prose pieces th...)
1993(In his book of poetry Partake, Robert Hilles writes frank...)
2010(Robert Hilles has returned with a new book of odes, deali...)
1997(Robert Hilles' book of poetry, time lapse, refuses to sta...)
2012(Finding the Lights on is a book full of compassion and lo...)
1991(Higher Ground presents new poems written in his dependabl...)
2001(Nothing Vanishes convinces his audience that Hillies' tal...)
1996
Quotations:
"I think that many of us are capable of courageous acts and by doing those selfless acts we are transformed by them."
"My desire as a teacher is to challenge students and for students to challenge me. For me, it is very important that students think for themselves and feel safe to offer their opinions in every class. Writing is a highly subjective art but there are also many core principles required in order to write well and I focus on both. At the same time, I do not believe there is only one way to write and never aim to promote any given school of writing over any others. However, every writer can benefit from constructive feedback and I strive to create an atmosphere in the classroom where students feel comfortable offering and receiving helpful feedback to/from their peers. I always leave each class meeting feeling fuller as a person and I want each of my students to feel the same."
Robert Hilles is a member of League of Canadian Poets, Writer’s Union of Canada, and Writer’s Guild of Alberta.
Robert Hilles is an optimist but at the same time realist.
Robert Hilles was married to Rebecca. Now he has a partner Pearl Luke. He has children Breanne, Austin and Amanda, and grandchildren.