Brian Hinton, MBE (born 21 September 1950) is an English poet and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen's Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts.

Education

Born in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Hinton studied English at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, where he served as President of the Oxford University Poetry Society, and went on to receive a PhD in Twentieth Century English poetry at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. He completed a postgraduate diploma in information science and represents the policy forum on the Southwestern branch committee of Cilip, the professional body representing librarians and information workers.

Career

Hinton is the author of more than thirty books on various topics. His primary interest has been literary researches into the circle of

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, especially in regard to the photographer

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was an English photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her Soft focus, soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian era, ...

. Hinton is Chairman of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust and curator at Dimbola Lodge,

Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

. He also serves as President of the Farringford

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

Society. Hinton is an Associate Editor of the international literary magazine, '' Tears in the Fence'' and co-hosted the ''Tears in the Fence'' London readings from 2001 to 2004 at John Calder's Bookshop, The Cut, Waterloo, London, with David Caddy. He has organised photographic exhibitions by

David Bailey David Royston Bailey (born 2 January 1938) is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties. Bailey has also directed several televisio ...

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

Koo Stark Kathleen Norris Stark (born April 26, 1956), better known as Koo Stark, is an American photographer and actress, known for her relationship with Prince Andrew. She is a patron of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, which runs the museum of the Vi ...

and many others at Dimbola Lodge. In June 2009, he organised a photographic exhibition by American singer and songwriter

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

that took place at Dimbola Lodge. With publication of his unauthorised study of the music and life of

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

, ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', the song "New Biography" was composed by the artist and included on his album '' Back on Top''. Hinton is the model for the character Dr T.C.P. Hinton in Iain Sinclair's novel, ''Downriver'' (1991) and appeared in Iain Sinclair and Christopher Petit's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

film, ''The Cardinal and the Corpse'' (1992), alongside Derek Raymond (Robin Cook), Emanuel Litvinoff and Martin Stone. He has appeared many times on radio and television and was featured in May 2009 on the BBC Poetry Season discussing

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

's ''Changing of the Bard'', presented by

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, and television personality. He is the editor of the satirical magazine '' Private Eye'', a position he has held since 1986. He has appeared on many radio and television pr ...

. This programme was repeated on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. Hinton has played the character, Randolph Minton M.P., in the internet drama serial, Middle Ditch, since 2007, starring among others: David Caddy and Gordon Haskell.

Publications

Poetry

* ''The Heart's Clockwork'' (Enitharmon Press 1989) illustrated by Julian Bell * ''Whodunnit'' (Ure Press 1994) * ''Ties'' (Tears in the Fence 1995)

Music books

* ''Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now'' (Sanctuary 1995) * ''Celtic Crossroads – The Art of Van Morrison'' (Sanctuary 1996) * ''Message to Love: Isle of Wight Festival, 1968, 1969, 1970'' (Sanctuary 1996) * ''Let Them All Talk: Elvis Costello'' (Sanctuary 1997) * ''Country Roads: How Country Came To Nashville'' (Sanctuary 2000) * ''Ashley Hutchings'' (Helter Skelter 2002) * ''South By South-West: A Road Map of Alternative Country'' (Sanctuary 2003) * ''Bold As Love: the return of the Isle of Wight Festival'' (Solo 2005) * ''Bob Dylan Album File and Complete Discography'' (Cassel Illustrated 2006 /Universe USA 2006)

Literature

* ''Discovering Island Writers: Exploring the Literary Tradition of the Isle of Wight'' (Island Books 2001), revised edition 2007

Notes

References

Dr. Brian Hinton MBE

Dimbola Lodge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinton, Brian 1950 births Living people English musicologists English male television actors English biographers English non-fiction writers Van Morrison English male poets Members of the Order of the British Empire English male biographers