[Jim Moonan]

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I saw those comments that seemed to diminish Ted Hughes's body of work. He indeed has flashed his brilliance in a number of good poems. I sometimes think he (and others) have suffered from 1.) being free verse poets in a universe that still is populated with a kind of literary prejudice that is skeptical of anything that doesn't conform to formulaic poetry, and 2.) living a life that was somewhat controversial in that his marriage to Sylvia Plath was afflicted with problems. To some degree he has been "cancelled", I think, by knee-jerkers.

I've read this poem and love it. Fwiw, I truly love all the poems I love. They are like living things to me, maybe even more so than many other living things : ) You can love a thousand poems and still be true to one love. I call that Love's Loophole : )

I don't think there's much in terms of talent that separates Hughes from Larkin.


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Editing back in to say I hope I haven't offended those Sylvia Plath devotees who see Ted Hughes perhaps differently than others. I also hope I haven't offended those who revere Larkin. But the fact t of the matter is — and I said so tangentially above — I love poems, not poets.

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