Paul Hullah

Paul William Hullah (born 26 June 1963) is an English writer who has published several volumes of poetry, short stories, and literary criticism, as well as a series of literature-based EFL textbooks for university students in Japan and articles in several academic journals in the field of EFL. He was co-editor of the 1997 authorized international edition of the collected poetry of the major novelist Dame Iris Murdoch. He had also co-edited, in 1996, Playback and talk show: new Edinburgh crimes, by Ian Rankin, the first book of Inspector Rebus stories to be published in Japan. In 2016, he published the critical monograph "We Found Her Hidden: The Remarkable Poetry of Christina Rossetti".

Hullah was born in Ripon, North Yorkshire, but now lives in Japan. He attended Ripon Grammar School, and then lived and worked for over a decade as a music and arts journalist in Edinburgh, Scotland, whilst simultaneously achieving an M.A. (in English Language and Literature) and a Ph.D. (the poetry of Christina Rossetti) from the University of Edinburgh. Hullah was an active figure in the Edinburgh underground arts and music scene during the 1980s, with one of his many commercially unsuccessful bands, Teenage Dog Orgy [1], nevertheless hailed as 'legendary' by the New Musical Express. He moved to Japan in 1992 and is currently Associate Professor of British Literature (Poetry) at Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo. In 2013 he received the Asia Pacific Brand Laureate International Personality Award for ‘paramount contribution to the cultivation of literature [that has] exceptionally restored the appreciation of poetry and contributed to the literary education of students in Asia.’ [2]

And Here's What You Could Have Won, Hullah's award-winning first book-length collection of poetry, attracted critical praise, with reviewers variously noting echoes of W. S. Graham, John Ashbery and Christina Rossetti (about whom Hullah has published several critical essays) in the layered lyrical pieces. His second collection, Let Me Sing My Song (Dionysia, 2000) contained more confessional poetry, though retaining the wit and collisions of imagery of earlier work. Unquenched, a slim volume of haiku in English, illustrated by the Scottish artist Susan Mowatt, was published by Afterdays Press, Scotland, in 2002. 'Age's Bullets' was published in 2006 by Vagabond Press, Sydney, Australia. In August 2011, Word Power Books UK. published 'Homing', a selection of 24 poems by Hullah dealing with loss and recovery, illustrated by Susan Mowatt. 'Homing' was performed/exhibited as a multi-media piece, featuring music by Davy Henderson and translations by Hidetoshi Tomiyama, during 2012 in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Edinburgh. 'Scenes: Words, Pictures, and Music', a collaboration with the painter and musician Martin Metcalfe (formerly of Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie) featuring poems by Hullah, was published by Word Power Books UK in August 2014. His latest collection, 'Climbable' was published by Partridge Books in 2016.

Hullah was also a very active musician during his time at Edinburgh University and afterwards. He was a key member of several outfits in the Edinburgh underground scene. His most highly respected musical endeavour was Kitsch And the Night Set (which he formed with fellow student J. B. March on keyboards and programming): a two piece synth group in the style of Soft Cell who produced several unsung pop masterpieces, two of which were 'Fragments' and 'Theatre Bar'. The group later was to resort to a classic guitar bass and drums Indie configuration. Hullah was also involved with Edinburgh 'supergroup' Teenage Dog Orgy [1]. Hullah sang for this outfit and composed lyrics. The band were formed out of three of Edinburgh's Indie art rock circuit and comprised Hullah, Billy Gould and Gordon Mackenzie on bass & drums (The Calloways), and Martin Metcalfe on guitar (Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie). None of Hullah's musical efforts resulted in record deals or physical releases but some of the performances are still talked about in Edinburgh with equal measures of affection and disgust.

In 2014 he released 'Scenes' a limited edition vinyl album in collaboration with The Filthy Tongues, formerly (Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie), with whom he continues to record and play live. He has also collaborated and often performs live with Japanese avant-garde pop band (Tenniscoats).