This page will no longer be updated.

20-xii-2003

The site is currently undergoing redesign. All pages should be accessible, and I will try to remove any possible bugs asap.

 

21-xi-2003

The review of Ted Hughes: Collected Poems is now on-line [HTML] -- [PDF].

The British Library opened their exhibit "The Page is Printed" in their front hall.
The display marks the publication of the Collected Poems and will continue until 1st February 2004.
British Library Press Release.
[Address: The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB]

31-x-2003

Ted Hughes: Collected Poems has just arrived. Since I am away from home until 6th November, here are answers to the most frequently asked questions of the past few weeks. A full review will be posted next week.

1. Yes, the book contains the poems from HOWLS & WHISPERS, CAPRICCIO and those which appeared in newspapers at the time..
2. Yes, it does also contain additional poems from the CROW period.
3. A few early poems are included, and there is a large number of other "uncollected" material.
4. No, this is not a "Complete Poems" — by far not. The vollume collects material that has previously been published in newpapers, magazines, trade editions, limited editions & so forth. However, many of the poems are extremely hard to come by due to the scarcity of the publications in which they appeared.
5. No, these are not the poems from the Emory Archives.

More soon!

Meanwhile, you may read a review by Simon Armitage in the Independent while the Guardian reprinted two poems "A Green Mother" and "Brooktrout".

17-x-2003

A new book, Ted Hughes: Collected Poems has just been published by Faber & Faber. Collecting poems of all the major publications as well as pieces that have been published in newspapers, magazines, etc., the book comes to over 1300 pages. I will publish a table of contents and a review asap. in these pages once the review copy comes in.

10-x-2003

Diane Middlebrook, author of Her Husband. Hughes and Plath — A Marriage, just informed me that her book will be published by Viking Press on 13^th October 2003. You will find further information on the book and the book tour on her website at http://www.dianemiddlebrook.com/.

26-ix-2003

The 100th and final issue of Signal Approaches to Children's Books, a magazine to which Ted Hughes occasionally contributed and whose Poetry Award he had won several times, has just been published. Issue 100 contains a number of articles that might be of interest like

"So Many Books, So Little Time: The Patrick Hardy Lecture" by current Children's Laureate Anne Fine,

"The Signal Poetry Award" by award winning author Jan Mark,

"The Shawl of the Beauty of the World: The Children's Books of Ted Hughes" by children's literature critic Neil Philip,

or "In the Company of Shakespeare" by Swedish scholar Ishrat Lindblad.

Additional information and exclusive extracts from all articles at Signal's web site.

11-viii-2003

The British Library have created a web page about the Ted Hughes collections in the Library. The page can be accessed at www.bl.uk/collections/britirish/modbrihughes.html.

There will also be a Ted Hughes exhibition at the Library to coincide with the publication of the Collected Poems in November 2003. It will show a number of fine press works, some of the books and magazines likely to have influenced Hughes, and some rare publications in which his work first appeared.

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Keith Sagar has just informed me that Chaucer Press is going to publish his Literature and the Crime Against Nature next year (further information on Keith website www.keithsagar.co.uk).

Keith will also be offering a weekend course on Ted Hughes & Sylvia Plath at Alston Hall (near Preston) in October.
Details and booking forms can be obtained from Alston Hall - 01772 784661, e-mail: alston.hall@ed.lancscc.gov.uk or their web-site at www.alstonhall.u-net.com

Here is the official announcement:

TED HUGHES AND SYLVIA PLATH
RESIDENTIAL COURSE
Friday - Sunday, 24th - 26th October 2003

The literary world was astounded when, in January 1998, Hughes published Birthday Letters, an intimate account in 88 poems of his relationship with Sylvia Plath. These poems were, in their 'confessional' nature, unlike any Hughes had written before, and spoke with amazing candour of matters on which he had maintained a resolute silence since Plath’s suicide in 1963. The book sold in vast numbers and won many prizes. Hughes died only a few months later; but he is now once more in the headlines, in connection with the controversial film about his relationship with Plath.

The tutor was a friend of Ted Hughes for thirty years, and is the author of several books on him.

Tutor: Keith Sagar

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The Iron Man Project

There is news from Mytholmroyd -- a little late since I could not access the server to put on the updates.

Local schoolchildren from the area illustrated different chapters from The Iron Man to be put up at the Old Station, the intended location for Mytholmroyd's Ted Hughes Centre.

On Friday 27th the Junior Band, mayors and local MP were at Mytholmroyd Railway Station for the unveiling of the Iron Man Story Boards. The project was initiated by Father Gott of the Good Shepherd Centre and supported by Faber & Faber Publishers and Arriva Trains Northern. The project was sponsored by several local businesses, like The Book Case from Hebden Bridge, who sponsored the "Space-Being and the Iron Man" board (below). You can find a more detailed account on mytholmroyd.net

And here are a few photographs I've been sent (click for a larger version pop-up), courtesy of Felicity Potter and Frances Robinson.

      
    

15-v-2003

Emory University has acquired Ted Hughes' library ! More on this on  a separate page in the "By Ted Hughes" section.

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Congratulations to Michael Morpurgo, who has been named as the third children's laureate ! More information at www.childrenslaureate.org.

09-v-2003

I have received notification that, sadly, the following two publications have been cancelled:

Ted Hughes: "Ted Huges at the BBC" (Audio Cassette)

Ted Hughes "The Dreamfighter Volume II: the Grizzly Bear and the Human Child" (Audio Cassette).

03-ii-2003

Richard Webster has published his essay on »"The Thought-Fox" and the poetry of Ted Hughes« on his site www.richardwebster.net/. [On-line essay]. The essay originally appeared in The Critical Quartely in 1984 (Vol, 26, No. 4, Winter 1984).

13-i-2003 / 20-i-2003 (navigation issues)

A Happy New Year everybody. Well, obviously, the site has undergone another full revision. Here is a short run-through:

1. Navigation has changed once again. This version seems more practical than any of the previous ones, though it might take some getting used to. Unfortunately, the pages might still look strange in some older browsers but should be readable.
   For easier reference, there is now also a graphic sitemap page, accessible through a link on the footer of every page. The sitemap won't print well but should give you an idea of what is there.
2. I have tried to improve the Print Functionality for the site, but again, this tends to be buggy in older browsers, esp. Netscape 4x. You should be able to test what it will look like in the "Print Preview" of your browser. This function should work regardless whether you are using the Print Button on the page or the Print Menu of your Browser.
3. Site Search has been updated. It now uses Atomz, which provides much better Search Functionality, like "sound alike" matching, etc.
4. New & Recent Books by & about Ted Hughes are now on a separate page, which will open in a new window if you click the link at the top of the page. It lists publication details & links to reviews, where available.
5. Bibliographical information has been updated (»By Ted Hughes«) & revised, where necessary. This includes the list of Children's Material.
6. The Criticism Sections have been updated.
7. Many other bits and pieces have been revised or corrected.

December 2002 | January 2003

Ted Hughes: Selected Poems 1957-1994 was published in the US. Paperback: 336 pages (October 9, 2002), Farrar Straus & Giroux, $15.00, ISBN: 0374528640.
A review by Peter Davison is in the New York Times. Many thanks to Arlindo Correia for this.

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There are two chapters on Hughes in Raphaël Ingelbien's recent monograph: Misreading England: Poetry and Nationhood Since the Second World War. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi, 2002. Thanks to Raphaël Ingelbien for this.

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Daniel Weissbort: Letters to Ted. has been published. 109 pages, October 2002, Anvil Press Poetry, ISBN: 0856463418.

Ann Skea has published a review of the book on her website.

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Ted Hughes: The Cat & the Cuckoo was republished with new illustrations by Flora McDonnell.

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Carlie Bell's: Ted Hughes: A Beginner's Guide was published by Hodder & Stoughton. (Review)

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The conference publication from Ted Hughes 2000 in Lyon is forthcoming and currently scheduled for 2003. A preliminary Table of Contents here.

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You may find additional News at Sylvia Paul's site!