Hill is the author of a poetry collection and an editor for a university publications department. In the following essay, she examines Duffy's use of physical displacement as a source of lifelong personal uncertainty and hesitation.

Many of Duffy's poems address the issue of national identity and originality, which, in most cases, are synonymous with personal identity and originality. Although it may be an exaggeration to say that the forced move from her native Scotland to England when she was a young child scarred her for life, there is no doubt that being uprooted at such a tender age had a profound effect on Duffy. At five, she was just old enough to grasp the effects. If she had been younger, she would have enjoyed the comfort of not understanding. If she had been older, she may have been able to rationalize her parents' decision and make...