07 Sep Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes (1930-98) was one of Britain’s greatest post-war writers and Poet Laureate from 1964 until his death. One of his most successful books, The Iron Man (1968) was the inspiration for The Who’s 1989 rock opera of the same name and for the Warner Brothers animated film The Iron Giant (1999). Hughes’ final work of poetry, Birthday Letters (1998), looks back on his relationship with the American poet Sylvia Plath, whom he married in 1956. In 1961 the couple bought a house in North Tawton, Devon that became Hughes’ home for the rest of his life. In the same year, however, Hughes and Plath separated and Plath committed suicide in 1963.

Hughes died in London, where he is commemorated by a memorial stone in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered on his beloved Dartmoor in Devon. There’s a memorial walk from the village of Belstone (near Okehampton) leading to a memorial stone. In Devon, there’s also the Ted Hughes Poetry Trail in Stover Country Park (near Newton Abbot).