Ian Hamilton, the Pillars of Hercules, and 1970s Soho Literary Scene

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Between 1974 and 1979, Soho was the epicenter of an emergent young London literary scene, over which the poet, critic, biographer, and television presenter Ian Hamilton presided with rumpled, charismatic cool. He was the founder/editor of the groundbreaking glossy magazine, The New Review. Ostensibly based at 11 Greek Street, Hamilton ran it from the downstairs bar at the nearby Pillars of Hercules pub, which became the clubhouse for a new generation of writers, Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Hugo Williams, James Fenton, Craig Raine, and Ian McEwan among them. Andrew O’Hagen recounts the story of how a young journalist turned up there to interview Ian Hamilton and some of his star writers: “ ‘What’ll you have?’ Ian said to the whey-faced visitor.

‘I don’t drink,’ he said. ‘I don’t like the taste.’

Hamilton screwed up his decreasingly handsome face. ‘None of us likes it,’ he said.”


Guest speakers:

Ian Hamilton’s son, Matthew Hamilton, has been a Publishing Director at Bloomsbury Publishing, a literary agent for Aitken Alexander Associates, and latterly the director of the Hamilton Agency, one of Britain’s leading literary agencies. His clients range from Douglas Murray to Paul Mason, and from D.J. Taylor to Kevin Rowland.

After nearly a decade working for the London Magazine, Hugo Williams was employed by Ian Hamilton at “The New Review”, which published his poetry. In parallel to his poetry, Williams is the author of two influential travel books and extensive literary journalism. His writing has won numerous awards, including the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.

Keiron Pim is an internationally acclaimed biographer whose most recent book is “Endless Flight: The Genius and Tragedy of Joseph Roth”, described by “The Times Literary Supplement” as an “elegant, detailed and judicious biography.” He's also the author of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash: David Litvinoff and the Rock ’n’ Roll Underworld”, which features on an episode of the Radio Sohemia podcast.