The Upstairs Country

Alan Hill was born in the South West of England near the Welsh border. After leaving school at sixteen he travelled extensively and worked in jobs ranging from renovating old graveyards to working in a jellybean factory before getting his Masters degree in International Development from the University of Leeds in England. Having immigrated to Canada in 2005, he now lives in New Westminster British Columbia with his wife, two children and obsessively collected vinyl LP collection.

Alan started writing poetry while working for a non-profit agency in northern Botswana in 2001. His poetry reflects his interest in historical and social issues and measures this with a keen sense of life's surreal and slippery absurdity.