“Philip Hancock’s insights are precise and authentic – he is part of the great tradition of writers who capture the true spirit of working class life.”
- Ken Loach
Philip Hancock was born in Newchapel, Stoke-on-Trent. He left school at sixteen to serve a City & Guilds craft apprenticeship. Discovered and mentored by poet Michael Laskey, his debut pamphlet Hearing Ourselves Think (Smiths Knoll, 2009) was a Guardian Book of the Year. A second pamphlet Just Help Yourself (Smiths Knoll), appeared in 2016. Jelly Baby, a film-poem, screened at various short film festivals and was published by Areté. City Works Dept. was published by CB editions in 2018, and a second collection House on the A34 in 2023.
Philip’s work has appeared in Areté, The Forward Book of Poetry 2019 (Faber & Faber), The New Statesman, The North, Nth Position, Magma, Oxford Magazine, Poetry London, The Poetry Paper (Aldeburgh Poetry Festival), The Poetry Review, Prototype (2), The Rialto, Smiths Knoll and The Spectator. A selection of his work also appeared in Oxford Poets 2010 (Carcanet).
Publisher
Forthcoming
Spectator
Oxford Magazine
Oxford Review of Books
Awards
Arts Council England Project Grant: ‘The Canteen Sessions’ 2023
Society of Authors: Authors Foundation Grant 2023
Arts Council England Writer’s Grant 2019
The Society of Authors: Authors Foundation Grant 2019
Arts Council England Writer’s Grant 2016
Hawthornden Fellowship 2016
Smiths Knoll Mentorship 2008
Jerwood / Aldeburgh Seminar 2007
Arts Council England Writer’s Grant: New Writing 2003
Interviews
Useful Links
Areté 55: Six poems
Areté 48: Two poems
Areté 41: Two poems
Areté 38: One poem
Areté 35: Two poems
Photography by Ric Bacon