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Ted Hughes

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Information on Ted Hughes

Attraction type:
Interests
  • Culture & Heritage
  • Historic Sites & Trails

Edward James Hughes (1930-1998) was born at 1 Aspinall Street, Mytholmroyd, on the 17th August 1930. He lived there until he was seven, when his family moved to Mexborough. During his childhood he spent many hours exploring the countryside around Mytholmroyd, and these experiences and the influences of the landscape on him were to inform much of his later poetry.

One of the greatest poets of his generation, Hughes also wrote stories, plays, reviews and essays. He translated the work of, amongst others, Ovid, Racine, Aeschylus and Euripides. He wrote extensively for children, including the story The Iron Man, which was turned into the Disney blockbuster The Iron Giant. Hughes’s interests in other art forms led to many collaborations, most famously with the artist Leonard Baskin.

Although best known in the UK, Hughes was a writer of international standing. He won numerous awards throughout his career, including four for his final collection, Birthday Letters. Hughes became Poet Laureate in 1984 until his death on 28th October 1998.

You can explore Ted’s Yorkshire with the Discovering Ted Hughes’s Yorkshire project; a series of six route maps that take you on an encounter with the Yorkshire landscapes that formed and inspired Ted Hughes; Mytholmroyd and the Upper Calder Valley, Mexborough and the lower valleys of the Don and Dearne and Patrington in East Yorkshire. Find out more about the project here.

Ted’s birthplace at #1 Aspinall Street, Mytholmroyd is available as a holiday let – the ideal place to stay for budding writers or for Ted’s fans to draw inspiration from the area.