The Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) is located on the 10th floor of the Robert W. Woodruff Library. Researchers may visit MARBL Monday through Friday 8:30-5:30 and Saturdays 9:00-5:30. Hours are subject to change during holiday and inter-session periods. More detailed descriptions of the sources listed below are available through the MARBL Finding Aid Portal (http://marbl.library.emory.edu/FindingAids/index.html) and the Emory Libraries’ online catalog (http://www.library.emory.edu). Finding aids for these sources are also available through MARBL's Web site at http://marbl.library.emory.edu/FindingAids/index.html. Please note that some collections may not yet have finding aids available and that this site is a work in progress.
For additional information about MARBL collections and services, please call (404-727-6887), email (marbl@emory.edu), or visit our website (http://marbl.library.emory.edu).
Biographical Sketch
 Ted Hughes was born on Aug. 17, 1930, in Mytholmroyd, a small mill town in West Yorkshire, England. The family moved to Mexborough, a coal-mining town in South Yorkshire, when Hughes was seven. After attending local grammar school, Hughes won an Open Exhibition to Pembroke College, Cambridge. Before going to Cambridge in 1951, he served two years in the Royal Air Force. In 1956 Hughes met and married the American poet Sylvia Plath.
Hughes began writing poetry while at Cambridge but held various jobs before turning to writing full time. His numerous publications include critically acclaimed poetry, including The Hawk in the Rain, Lupercal, Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow, Moortown, River, Rain-Charm for the Duchy and Other Laureate Poems, and Birthday Letters; many books for children; as well as plays, short stories, works of literary criticism, translations, and anthologies.
Over his literary career, Hughes has been the recipient of numerous literary honors and awards, among them the Guinness Poetry Award in 1958, the Somerset Maugham Award in 1960, the Hawthornden Prize in 1961, the City of Florence International Poetry Prize in 1969, the Premio Internazionale Taormina in 1973 and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1974. He was awarded the OBE in 1977, and in 1984 Hughes was named Britain's poet laureate. In 1997 he won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award for Tales from Ovid, a distinction he repeated the following year with Birthday Letters.
Hughes and Plath had two children together, Frieda and Nicholas. During the fall of 1962 Hughes began seeing Assia Wevill and soon after he and Sylvia Plath separated. While suffering from depression the following winter, Plath took her own life. After her death, Hughes played an active role in seeing her unpublished writing into print. In March 1969, Wevill took her own life and that of their daughter Shura. In 1970, Hughes married Carol Orchard. Ted Hughes died October 28, 1998.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 644)
Papers, 1940-1997 (bulk 1958-1997); 92.5 linear ft. (186 boxes, 103 oversized folders)
Born in Yorkshire, England, poet Ted Hughes published dozens of volumes of poetry and edited many more. With Daniel Weissbort he was a founding editor of the journal Modern Poetry in Translation. The Ted Hughes Papers cover the entire spectrum of Hughes' career from his first published volume of poetry, The Hawk in the Rain (1957), through the start of his tenure as Poet Laureate of Great Britain in 1984, up until 1997. The collection includes an extensive correspondence series with such well-known poets and critics as Stephen Spender, Al Alvarez, and Seamus Heaney. It also includes extensive manuscript drafts from all of Hughes' collections, sound recordings, journals, photographs, scrapbooks, and collected printed materials.
Restrictions: Access to selected files is restricted without the written permission of the copyright holder. Other selected files are closed for a period of 25 years (2022) or the lifetime of Carol Hughes, whichever is greater. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) and photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Library
The books in Ted Hughes library (more than 6,000 in number) offer students and scholars a detailed map of Hughes' creative and intellectual development. In addition to many works of poetry by a wide literary circle (many inscribed to him by the author), the library also reflects Hughes' wide-ranging interests far beyond the field of literature. The library includes many works devoted to natural history, folklore, mysticism, religion, and esoteric knowledge, among other subjects. Also present are several volumes belonging to Hughes' wife Sylvia Plath.
Finding aids: The Library is being catalogued into Emory's online catalog (EUCLID http://www.library.emory.edu). On the opening search screen, select browse, enter “Hughes, Ted” and click on author. From the browse list, select "Hughes, Ted 1939-1998 former owner" to retrieve a list of books cataloged to date.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 895)
Letters to Janos Csokits, 1960-1998; 1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Hungarian poet and translator Janos Csokits and Ted Hughes began a personal and professional friendship based on mutual admiration, and they later collaborated on two published translations of the Hungarian poet Janos Pilinszky. The collection consists primarily of 49 letters from Hughes to Csokits, which include comments on the Csokits' translations, Hughes' frustration over Sylvia Plath's literary reputation, and his publications relating to Plath. Also included in the collection is a detailed annotation of the letters provided by Csokits.
Restrictions: Access to some letters written by Janos Csokits to Ted Hughes from 1964-1975 are closed until 2017. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 1014)
Letters to Frieda Hughes, 1971-1997; 1.25 linear ft. (2 boxes, 2 bound volumes)
Frieda Rebecca Hughes (1960- ), author and artist, daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, was born in London on April 1, 1960. The collection consists primarily of letters to Frieda Hughes from her father, Ted Hughes and stepmother, Carol Hughes from 1971 - 1997.
Finding aids: collection description.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes. Some photographs may not be reproduced.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 854)
Letters to Gerald Hughes, 1952-1991; 1 linear ft. (3 boxes)
The collection consists of 188 letters written by Ted Hughes to his brother and sister-in-law, Gerald and Joan Hughes, between 1950 and 1998. The letters provide access to Hughes' thoughts on his poetry and the writing process, as well as on his family and partners. Included with the correspondence are photographs and drafts of poems including, "Birthday Ode for Brother Gerald," "On the Anniversary of Your Leaving," and "Pike," as well as drafts of four short stories and an unidentified play.
Restrictions: Selected letters are closed until 2028 or the death of Carol Hughes, whichever is sooner. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes. Some photographs may not be reproduced.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 866)
Letters to W.S. and Dido Merwin, 1958-1969; .25 linear ft.(1 box)
Correspondence between poet Ted Hughes and poet W.S. Merwin and his wife, Dido, comprise this collection. It covers the period of Hughes' marriage to Sylvia Plath, and a number of letters by Dido Merwin comment quite extensively on the relationship. The correspondence also includes discussions among the three on poetry, with several of W.S. Merwin's letters containing drafts of poems.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 865)
Letters to Lucas Myers, 1955-1988; .75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
This collection contains letters from Ted Hughes to one of his oldest friends, Lucas Myers. The friendship began while both were attending Cambridge University in the 1950s and continued until Hughes' death in 1998. Most of the letters date from the 1950s and 1960s. The letters include Hughes' entreaty to Myers for an introduction to Sylvia Plath as well as later discussions of his career, marriage, family, and Plath's work. A short memoir piece by Myers, which originally appeared in Grand Street, about Hughes' time at Cambridge and his meeting with Sylvia Plath, is also included in the collection.
Restrictions: Access to selected correspondence is closed for a period of 25 years (2022) or the lifetime of Carol Hughes, whichever is sooner. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) and photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 867)
Letters to Peter Redgrove, ca. 1966-1984; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains letters by Ted Hughes to the English poet, novelist, and playwright Peter Redgrove. The two men became friends in the 1960s at Cambridge and shared an interest in the occult and mythology. Included with the letters are drafts of poems and plays, and clippings.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 924)
Letters to Ben Sonnenberg, 1961-2000; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Ben Sonnenberg (b. 1936) has been a writer, publisher and literary adviser. He met Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath at the home of W.S. (Bill) and Dido Merwin, and these letters reveal a personal and professional correspondence that continued between Sonnenberg and Hughes from 1961 until Hughes's death in 1998. This collection contains 38 letters written to Ben Sonnenberg, including 30 written by Ted Hughes (the other letters are from Olwyn Hughes and Carol Hughes.)
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 1058)
Letters to Assia Wevill, 1955-1970; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
The Wevills met Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath in London in 1961, and Hughes and Wevill began an affair soon thereafter.
The collection contains letters, manuscripts, poems, drawings, and miscellaneous documents relating to Ted Hughes and Assia Wevill. Included are 61 letters from Hughes to Wevill; included with the letters are drafts for a series of poems on playing cards and a "Draft Constitution," which appears to be an agreement between Ted and Assia concerning her responsibilities towards his children, her household duties, and general behavior. The collection also includes six letters from Assia Wevill to Ted Hughes; one early (1955) letter from Wevill to her sister, Cecilia Chaikin; and three letters from Ted Hughes to Chaikin written after Assia's death. The first two deal with his response to Assia's suicide, while the third responds to Celia's offer to return a number of Plath's manuscripts, which had been sent to her by Assia. Finally, the correspondence contains two letters from David Wevill to Assia, and one letter from Assia to him.
The remainder of the collection consists of a number of manuscript and typescript drafts of Hughes's poems; eight miscellaneous pieces of notes and letters by Assia, addressed obliquely to Hughes; and a number of photographs of Assia Wevill, both alone and with Hughes, Shura, Frieda, and Nicholas. One of the typescripts, which bears the title "For Aya," represents a preliminary version, in four parts, of the longer sequence of poems published as "The New World", while another poem, "Little Blood," contains an extra stanza omitted in publication. Other typescripts include variant titles, and one bears additional manuscript material on its reverse side. Two of the poems, "Crow Outlawed" and "Carrion Tiresias Examines the Sacrifice," appear to be unpublished.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Hughes, Ted (MSS 870)
Letters to Edna Wholey, ca. 1947-1951; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
This collection contains letters, poems, and a short story written to Edna Wholey, a childhood friend of Ted Hughes, along with five photographs of Hughes at Wholey's home around the 1940s through early 1950s.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) and photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Hughes, Ted
Published Works
MARBL holds an extensive collection of Hughes' published works, including books, periodicals, and broadsides. Most of these publications have been cataloged into Emory's online catalog (EUCLID http://www.library.emory.edu). Search for "Hughes, Ted" as an author to retrieve a list of books cataloged to date. For a list of the Hughes broadsides held in MARBL, please contact the research services staff at marbl@emory.edu or 404-727-6887.
Related Collections
BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION (MSS 1055)
Third Programme radio scripts, 1949-1978; .75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
The British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Third Programme began on September 29, 1946, during the BBC's post-war restructuring. At this time, the BBC was divided into three networks: The Home Service, the Light Programme, and the Third Programme. The latter was considered more intellectual in nature and was defined by the BBC as "being for the educated rather than an educational programme." In 1957 the BBC decreased program's air time, despite protests from individuals such as T.S. Eliot. The program was cut further in 1970 and merged with Radio Four, created in 1967 to replace the Home Service and to reach a wider audience.
The collection contains thirty-six typescripts for the British Broadcasting Corporation's Third Programme, dating from 1949 to 1978; however, the majority of the typescripts date from the 1960s. The collection is comprised of numerous works by Dylan Thomas, including multiple versions of "Under Milk Wood," as well as typescripts of works by David Gascoyne, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Stevie Smith, Wole Soyinka, and others. Many of the programs were produced by Douglas Cleverdon, who worked on the Third Programme from 1946 to 1969.
Fallon, Peter/The Gallery Press (MSS 817)
Collection, ca. 1967-1998; 97 linear ft. (195 boxes, 127 oversized folders)
Although born in Germany in 1951, Peter Fallon spent his early years in Ireland. In addition to writing his own poetry, Fallon established the Gallery Press, which published plays by such writers as Paul Muldoon and Seamus Heaney. The Peter Fallon/Gallery Press collection contains personal and literary papers of Fallon, as well as files related to his publishing house. Present in the Press's files are many manuscript drafts of most of Ireland's leading poets and playwrights of the last twenty-five years. Among them Ciaran Carson, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Eugene McCabe, Medbh McGuckian, Frank McGuinness, Derek Mahon, Paul Muldoon, Thomas Murphy, Frank Ormsby, and James Simmons. The collection also includes correspondence with and manuscripts by Ted Hughes and other materials related to Hughes' publications.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Heaney, Seamus (MSS 960)
Papers
Born on the family farm, Mossbawn, northwest of Belfast in County Derry, Northern Ireland, Seamus Heaney has become one of the most widely read and known contemporary poets. While teaching English at St. Joseph's College in Belfast, he joined a poetry workshop organized by Philip Hobsbaum, which included such poets as Michael Longley. Among the many awards that have been bestowed upon him, Heaney received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. In addition to writing poetry, Heaney has served as a professor at both Harvard and Oxford Universities and inaugurated the Ellmann Lecture Series at Emory University in 1988.
Restrictions: All correspondence is restricted and cannot be used without the permission of Seamus Heaney.
Heaney, Seamus (MSS 653)
Collection, 1981-1991; 1 linear ft. (4 boxes, 4 oversized folders)
This small collection reflects both Heaney's role as a writer and as a reflector on writing. Includes correspondence (restricted) with J. Howard Woolmer related to the publication of Stern, a poem in memory of Ted Hughes.
Restrictions: Letters by Seamus Heaney are restricted and cannot be used without the permission of Seamus Heaney.
Hughes, Olwyn (MSS 980)
Papers, 1951-1997; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Olwyn Marguerite Hughes, the sister of Ted Hughes, was born in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, on August 26, 1928. After the death of Sylvia Plath, she came to live in Ted Hughes's Devon house to help with the children. She also became a literary agent, initially looking after Ted Hughes's writings and the work of such authors as Jean Rhys (who lived nearby) and Robert Nye. Moving to London in the autumn of 1965 she worked as an agent for the Plath estate and for various British authors and represented some distinguished foreign poets, including Yehuda Amichai, Janos Pilinszki, and Vasco Popa. Olwyn and Ted Hughes inaugurated a fine, limited, first editions press, Rainbow Press, that released sixteen titles between 1970 and 1981. It published various works by Hughes and Plath, Thom Gunn, Seamus Heaney, Ruth Fainlight and Alan Sillitoe. Olwyn managed the press. She collaborated on the research and writing of Anne Stevenson's biography of Sylvia Plath, Bitter Fame (1989). In the early nineties she ceased acting for the Plath estate. The collection consists of primarily letters from Ted Hughes to Olwyn Hughes from 1951 to 1997, and to his parents from 1954 to 1960. There are brief messages from Sylvia Plath appended to six of these letters. The letters often include astrological charts, sketches, and drafts of poems. The collection also includes the unpublished poem "For Olwyn Each Evening," Hughes's translation of Phedre by Jean Racine, and photographs.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) and photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
McGuckian, Medbh (MSS 770)
Papers, 1967-1999 (bulk 1982-1999); 31 linear ft. (74 boxes, 24 oversized folders)
Irish poet Medbh McGuckian was born in Belfast in 1950. The McGuckian collection is comprised of literary and personal papers, including drafts of her poems from The Flower Master (1982), Venus and the Rain (1984), On Ballycastle Beach (1988),and Marconi's Cottage (1991). Also present are extensive files of personal and literary correspondence including letters from Paul Durcan, Tess Gallagher, Seamus Heaney, Jennifer Johnston, Michael Longley, Paul Muldoon, and Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill. The collection also includes writings by others (including student writing), subject files, collected printed material by or about Medbh McGuckian, photographs, and an audiotaped recording of Comhra with McGuckian and Ni Dhomhnaill. The papers include two letters from Ted Hughes, writings by McGuckian related to Hughes' work (e.g., drafts of the poem "After Moortown"), and McGuckian's reviews of Hughes' work.
Restrictions: Restrictions apply to correspondence of John Drexel and Marie and Seamus Heaney. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Muldoon, Paul (MSS 784)
Papers, ca. 1968-1996; 31 linear ft. (63 boxes, 178 oversized folders)
Paul Muldoon, born in Armagh, Northern Ireland, studied under fellow Northern Irish poet Seamus Heaney while a student at Queen's University. His poetry has garnered him several awards including a Guggenheim fellowship and the T. S. Eliot Prize. The Paul Muldoon papers are composed primarily of the manuscript drafts of Muldoon's creative work from his earliest writings in the late 1960s up to 1996. The papers also contain correspondence received by him, including personal and professional letters. A small number of letters by Paul Muldoon are also present. A number of manuscripts by other writers (including Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, and Derek Mahon) may also be found in the papers, as well as photographs, and a small number of audio and video recordings. The papers include correspondence with Ted Hughes, BBC scripts related to Hughes (e.g., "Ted Hughes: Teacher's Notes"), and a review of Hughes' Gaudette.
Restrictions: Selected files closed without written permission of Paul Muldoon. Letters by Seamus Heaney closed without written permission of Seamus Heaney. Letters by Gerard Quinn are closed until Quinn's death. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
O'Brien, Edna (MSS 855)
Papers, ca. 1939-2000; 46.5 linear ft. (94 boxes, 22 oversized folders)
Novelist and short story writer Edna O'Brien was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1936. She has written over a dozen novels, including The Country Girls, the story of a woman's sexual awakening in the 1960s which was banned in Ireland along with her next six books. She has also written several plays and screenplays as well as a biography of James Joyce. The papers include literary manuscripts of most of O'Brien's short stories and novels, among them The Lonely Girl, Girls in Their Married Bliss, August is a Wicked Month, Casualties of Peace, Night, A Pagan Place, The High Road, Time and Tide, House of Splendid Isolation, Down by the River, and Wild Decembers. Also present is literary correspondence, diaries (currently restricted), photographs, collected printed material, and other related papers documenting her distinguished literary career. The papers include personal and literary correspondence with Ted Hughes.
Restrictions: Subseries 1.5 contains restricted correspondence, Series 2, Journals is restricted, and Series 5 contains the restricted Last Will and Testament of Edna O'Brien. Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) and photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Paulin, Tom (MSS 880)
Papers, 1969-2000; 35 linear ft. (70 boxes, 7 oversized folders)
The papers of Tom Paulin, a British poet and critic born in Leeds and raised in Belfast, include manuscript drafts of Paulin's poetry and criticism, photographs, and personal correspondence, including letters from fellow poets Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon and the late Ted Hughes. The collection includes materials documenting the history of the Field Day Theatre Company, which Paulin co-founded in 1972 with Brian Friel and Seamus Heaney.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) and photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Tennant, Emma (MSS 913)
Papers, 1937- ; 0.5 linear ft (1 box)
Novelist, critic, and editor Emma Tennant was born October 20, 1937 in London, England. The collection contains items related to Tennant's relationship with Ted Hughes in the 1970s. The materials include a few pieces of correspondence from Hughes to Tennant during the 1970s and a brief note in 1998. The letters are short and mostly describe writing projects and travels. There are also three drafts of The Notting Hill Diaries, later renamed the Burnt Diaries and published in 1999, an autobiographical account of Tennant's affair with Hughes.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
Weissbort, Daniel (MSS 894)
Papers, ca. 1957-1999; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes, 1 oversized folder)
Critic, translator, and poet Daniel Weissbort, born in London in 1935, co-founded with Ted Hughes the journal Modern Poetry in Translation, which he continues to edit. The collection contains his correspondence, including letters from Ted Hughes, Joseph Brodsky, and Yehuda Amichai, and manuscripts of these writers as well as Susan Alliston and Janos Pilnsky.
Restrictions: Writings by Ted Hughes (letters and literary works) and photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of Carol Hughes.
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