Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes was born in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire,in 1930 on 17th August. Later his family moved to Mexborough. He studied at the Pembroke College, Cambridge. He even met his wife Sylvia Plath there. He studied English there and then switched on to study anthropology and archaeology later. His first poem was published in 1954. He had written his first poem at the age of fifteen. In the following two years he was involved in odd jobs like that of a night watchman, zoo attendant. He also worked as a school teacher and then as a reader for J. Arthur Rank. Later in 1956 Hughes was a part of the team of six, which produced the literary magazine, St Botolph's Review. Another important event of his life that occured in 1956 was meeting Sylvia Plath and marrying her four months later.
Hughes' first book of poetry, 'Hawk in the Rain' was published in 1957, and since then over the next 41 years there was no looking back. ONe of his best known works is considered to be 'Crow' published in 1970.
There is a long list of awards that were conferred on Hughes, an acknowledgement of the contributions he made to the literary field. Notable among them are: Somerset Maughan Award, Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, Guiness Poetry Award, Queen's Order of Merit, T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry...and many more. He was appointed England's poet laureate in the year 1984.
Hughes' wife Sylvia Plath had died(committed suicide) in 1963 (after they separated in 1962). Hughes' biographer, Elaine Feinstein, claims that Hughes never recovered from his wife's death.