Ted Hughes: in his own words

Ted Hughes was born in Yorkshire, England on the 17th of August, 1930 and grew up in and around farmland where he learned to fish and hunt. His poetry is steeped with natural imagery, flora and fauna. The savagery of the natural world- both beautiful and violent- influenced him greatly, prompting him to use animals and nature as metaphorical devices.

Hughes’ terse yet powerful use of language, coloured by his West Riding dialect, created a hard energy to his work- emphatic but evocative, and never self-indulgent.

Watch below for a wonderful reading of The Crow by the poet himself.