He could not stand. It was not That he could not thrive, he was born With everything but the will – That can be deformed, just like a limb. Death was more interesting to him. Life could not get his attention.

If I tried too hard to tell them exactly how something happened in the hope of correcting some fantasy I was quite likely to be accused of trying to suppress Free Speech. In 1989 with Hughes under public attack a battle raged in the letters pages of The Guardian and The Independent. During his time in Mexborough he explored Manor Farm at Old Denaby which he said he would come to know "better than any place on earth".

His last poetic work Birthday Letters (1998) explored their complex relationship. His part in the relationship became controversial to some feminists and (particularly) American admirers of Plath. Edward James "Ted" Hughes OM (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet and children's writer.