Most Popular Books by Ted Hughes

El poemario que escribió Ted Hughes en silencio a su primera esposa, Sylvia Plath «Este libro irrumpe con la fuerza inesperada de un rayo y leerlo es como sufrir su descarga eléctrica. [...] Nunca se había visto nada parecido en literatura.» Andrew Motion, The London Times A lo largo de las páginas de este libro, Ted Hughes, desde el centro de la intimidad, recuerda su relación con Plath, empezando por el día en que se conocieron, durante una fiesta en Cambridge, en 1956, pasando por su boda, su luna de miel, el nacimiento de sus dos hijos y los constantes y fatales tormentos que desembocaron en el suicidio de la poeta. Más allá de la anécdota biográfica, Cartas de cumpleaños es ya uno de los poemarios fundamentales de finales del siglo XX, una valiente conversación con una amada sombra en el quieta contraluz del recuerdo, una celebración de la vida, de la pasión extrema, lo mismo que una poderosa meditación sobre la muerte. Y, por encima de todo, esta obra constituye la fulgurante despedida de uno de los mayores poetas de nuestro tiempo. La crítica ha dicho: «Este libro irrumpe con la fuerza inesperada de un rayo y leerlo es como sufrir su descarga eléctrica. Su potencia es a veces tierna, a veces humorística, a veces angustiada y brota siempre de un presente abrasador e inmóvil. Quienes pensaron que la reticencia de Hughes era una prueba de insensibilidad se darán cuenta inmediatamente de que los insensibles eran ellos. Estamos ante un libro escrito por alguien obsesionado, heridoy que estuvo profundamente enamorado. Nunca se había visto nada parecido en literatura.» Andrew Motion, The London Times «Un libro extraordinario. [...] El tema de Hughes es la propia Plath: cómo era, cómo se movía y hablaba, sus gustos, rabias, sueños insólitos y múltiples miedos, lo que funcionaba entre ellos y lo que no.» A. Álvarez, The New Yorker «Los críticos que nos instan a considerar estos poemas como obras maestras tienen razón. Su intensidad de sentimiento, la claridad de sus imágenes, la precisión, la energía, la simplicidad y la fluidez de su lenguaje siguen siendo sorprendentes.» Paul Levy, The Wall Street Journal «Un tono emocional, directo, arrepentido y extasiado impregna los poemas más poderosos del libro, que son plácidos, reflexivos y conversacionales.» Katha Pollitt, The New York Times Book Review «La mayoría de estos poemas contienen una maravillosa inmediatez y ternura que es nueva en la escritura de Hughes, una ternura que le permite transmitir los terrores de Plath de una manera tan palpable como su propia poesía, y contagiar su propia sensación de pérdida y dolor. [...] Leedlos, pues constituyen el trabajo más fuerte y emocionalmente palpable de la carrera de Hughes.» Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times «La publicación estos poemas es el evento más sensacional en la historia reciente de la poesía en inglés.» Christopher Benfey, Slate

Nine short stories ranging over four decades of the Poet Laureate''s occasional fiction writing.

Illustrated poems about an otter, a dragonfly, a cow, a robin, and many other creatures of the land, sea, and air.

Mankind for has polluted the seas, lakes and rivers. The Iron Woman has come to take revenge. Lucy understands the Iron Woman''s rage and she too wants to save the water creatures from their painful deaths. But she also wants to save her town from total destruction. She needs help. Who better to call on but Hogarth and the Iron Man . . .? A sequel and companion volume to Ted Hughes'' The Iron Man, this new, child-friendly setting will be treasured by a new generation of readers.

This is a new version of the Racine play by Hughes. His reputation as a dramatist is firmly established following the success of previous adaptations of Oedipus and Spring Awakening. The book will tie-in with the production starring Diana Rigg.

In "The Mermaid''s Purse, Ted Hughes explores the ocean. From starfish and seagulls to mermaids and monsters, 28 poems capture the beauty, drama, and mystery of the sea and the seashore. Here is the ghostly cormorant: "Drowned fishermen come back/As famished cormorants/With bare and freezing webby toes/Instead of boots and pants." The strange and comical flounder: "The flounder sees/Through crooked eyes./Through crooked lips/The flounder cries." And the mermaid herself: "Call her a fish, /Call her a girl./Call her the pearl/Of an oyster fresh/On its pearly dish." By turns lyrical, whimsical, and robust, "The Mermaid''s Purse showcases the distinctive voice and appreciation of the natural world that made Ted Hughes among the most respected of late-20th-century poets. Made doubly accessible by Flora McDonnell''s distinctive black-and-white art, this sea-themed collection will delight children and be welcomed by educators.

Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, is tired of being told that she doesn''t exist. In this crackling, lolloping story in verse, Ted Hughes describes how she sets out on the road to London for an audience with the Queen...

In 1984 Ted Hughes was made Poet Laureate. Since then, he has fulfilled his duties by writing a number of poems celebrating important royal occasions. These are major works, calling on the Laureate''s full powers and embodying a complete vision of royalty and nationhood. Rain-Charm for the Duchy collects these poems for the first time. It also contains a section of notes, throwing light on the context and genesis of each poem.

In fantastical verse the author introduces his sister, brother, mother, father, and other members of his family.

Explores the strange and wonderful moon-world. The terrain is fantastic, its creatures both intriguing and grotesque, but all is touched by the Poet Laureate''s moon magic.

A collection of 144 letters between Hughes and the literary critic Sagar provides insight into the poet''s life and creative process, including his relationship with Sylvia Plath.

Blood Wedding is based upon a newspaper fragment which told of a family vendetta and a bride who ran away with the son of the enemy family. Lorca uses the story to investigate subjects which fascinated him such as desire, repression and ritual.

A collection of prose pieces on literary matters and on writers. Hughes also expresses concerns about education, the environment and education in general.

Brings together three short pieces written in homage to T.S. Eliot. The three pieces were prompted, in turn, by the unveiling of a plaque, by a reading of The Waste Land in a London theatre, and by a centenary dinner.

In this series, a contemporary poet advocates a poet of the past or present whom they have particularly admired. By their selection of verses and by the personal and critical reactions they express, the selectors offer intriguing insight into their own work.

Sylvia Plath is one of the defining voices in twentieth-century poetry. This classic selection of her work, made by her former husband Ted Hughes, provides the perfect introduction to this most influential of poets. The poems are taken from Sylvia Plath''s four collections Ariel, The Colossus, Crossing the Water and Winter Trees, and include many of her most celebrated works, such as ''Daddy'', ''Lady Lazarus'' and ''Wuthering Heights''.

A commentary on the author''s own poem ''Crow''s song about Prospero and Sycorax''.

From Ted Hughes, England''s Poet Laureate, Knopf is proud to present a children''s classic which has been unavailable in the U.S. for many years. First published in 1968, The Iron Giant is a modern fantasy about a massive giant who stalks the earth devouring metal, terrifying farmers and townspeople everywhere. Despite his insatiable hunger, the Iron Giant is quite gentle and good-natured, though the townspeople are too frightened of him to realize it. So they capture him and put him in a scrapyard, where he happily stuffs himself with stoves and bicycles. The people forget about the Iron Giant until a space-bat the size of Australia hovers over the earth, poised to destroy it. Earth needs a hero and only the Iron Giant is big enough and brave enough to do battle with the hideous creature from outer space. With a tractor-eating giant, a menacing space-bat, and a young boy-hero, The Iron Giant is an accessible, early chapter book with plenty of appeal for reluctant readers and budding science fiction and fantasy fans.

Ted Hughes wrote a series of stories for children from the early 1960s through until 1995 about how the world, and the creatures in it, came into being. They are collected here in one volume for the first time. These are richly told tales of sparkling intensity about animals finding their form, and God''s struggle to understand what he has created. Meet the Polar Bear whose obsession with her snowy white fur is so great that she can only live in a landscape surrounded by her own reflection; the Whale, growing in God''s garden beside the carrots; King Leo, who began life because God was hungry for his sausages; poor Parrot''s painful defeat in the marriage song contest at the wedding of Man and Woman; and Sparrow''s heroic battle against the bird-swallowing Black Hole. There are stories here to suit children from four to fourteen, whether for reading aloud or alone.