A new exhibition of rare works and artefacts from Yorkshire poet Ted Hughes has opened at Heritage Quay at the University of Huddersfield.
Ted Hughes: Making of a Poet Laureate showcases a wealth of material recently donated by Carol Hughes, Ted’s widow, and marks 40 years since the Mytholmroyd-born writer succeeded Sir John Betjeman to become Poet Laureate.
The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday until September 21.
In recent years, the University of Huddersfield has assembled one of the world’s biggest collections of Ted Hughes’s rarest books and artefacts, and some are on display in the exhibition.
Among those who made this possible were Donald Crossley, Hughes’ childhood friend and schoolmate, Mark Hinchliffe, a local poet whose work Hughes encouraged as well as Carol Hughes.
The exhibition was curated by English literature students from the university in partnership with the Heritage Quay team.
The exhibition was launched with an event attended by Carol Hughes, who said: “It really feels like the collection is coming home.
“I’m delighted all these items are with Heritage Quay, and I am thrilled by the dedication and enthusiasm of everyone who works here.”
There is a range of items on display, including signed manuscripts, Hughes’ birth certificate, school reports, a discus and letters to family and friends.
Not on display but also donated – and part of the Hughes collection which can be viewed online – are passports which reveal how Hughes’ travels inspired his work.
Dr Steve Ely, director of the Ted Hughes Network, said: “The three passports have more than artefactual value as they confirm Hughes’ international movements in the relevant periods – confirming, for example, that Hughes visited Mali in early 1972 with Brook et al at the beginning of The Conference of Birds project.”
