Ian Hamilton

Editor, critic and poet Ian Hamilton has died, aged 63.

Hamilton was born in Norfolk and brought up in Darlington. He went on to read English at Keble College, Oxford. It was while he was there that he became interested in journalism and founded the poetry magazine Review. On leaving Oxford, Hamilton went on to work for the Times Literary Supplement as poetry and fiction editor from 1965 to 73.

His own collection of poems, The Visit, appeared in 1970 and A Poetry Chronicle, a compilation of essays and reviews, followed shortly after. In 1988, Hamilton gathered up the 60 poems that it had taken him over a decade to write and commented on how little of his life was revealed in them: "The raggedness of everything, the booze, the jokes, the literary feuds, the almost

love affairs, the cash, the somehow getting-to-be-40, and so on -where does all that show itself?"

Hamilton was an outstanding biographer. His first biography was published in 1983 – the life of American poet Robert Lowell. He later went on to profile the writer JD Salinger.

The reclusive Salinger took legal action to prevent Hamilton from publishing the book, but he side-stepped the problems and the book was published in 1988.

He also wrote two books on footballer Paul Gascoigne.

Hamilton married twice, first to Gisela Dietzel, with whom he had a son, and then to Ahdaf Soueif, with whom he had two sons.

He is survived by his partner, Patricia Wheatley, and their son and daughter.