Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath
From John Dunford
Sunday, 3 February 2013
The article from The Guardian about Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes seems to assume that thet were connected with Hebden bridge. As we all know Sylvia Plath stayed and is buried in Heptonstall. Ted Hughes is a Mytholmroyder.
Is this another case of Hebden Bridge trying to claim things which do not belong to it. The communities which surround Hebden bridge are communities in their own right they are not part of a Greater Hebden Bridge!!
From Dai Hallgarth
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Another case of Hebden Bridge trying to claim things which do not belong to it? If the market town at the centre of the upper valley communities were indeed capable of claiming a connection to Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, surely that would be absolutely reasonable?
Yes, we do know the couple stayed briefly in Heptonstall before settling in Devon on their return from the USA. Yes, Sylvia Plath was buried there. And yes, Ted Hughes was a Mytholmroyder until the age of 7. And yes, he chose to return to Lumb Bank.
Equal claims of ownership or connection could also be made by "communities" in Mexborough, London, Cambridge, Massachusetts or Devon. All pretty pointless; the poetry now belongs to us all
From Nigel L
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Isn't it a little pedantaic to say that Ted Hughes has no connection to Hebden Bridge. Does it matter that he wasn't born in the town, but a mere 1.5 miles away in t'Royd (which was part of HebdenRoyd) I'm sure in his first 7 years that he spent in the valley he spent quite a lot of the time in Hebden.
See also:
Guardian Northener: A Dark Water - remembering Sylvia Plath in Hebden Bridge and how she and Ted Hughes might have fared better in the Hebden Bridge of today.
Sylvia Plath: Killing the Angel in the House by Elaine Connell
- now available on Amazon Kindle
- and on Apple iBooks