Following the success of the first Ted Hughes
Weekend in May 2013, a second event will take place this year on July
11th to 13th, at Doonreagan in Cashel, Co. Galway, where Ted Hughes
lived and worked for a period in the 1960s – a time that constituted, in
his own words, a breakthrough in his writing and in everything to do
with himself. In letters to those close to him he refers to the good
flow of inspiration he experienced in Connemara, resulting in some of
his finest work.
With his Irish roots, Ted
Hughes had a deep personal attachment to Ireland, which he shared with
only a handful of close associates: an attachment that has received
little attention so far from his biographers and critics.
The theme of this year’s
event will be “Ted Hughes and the countryside”. Among the speakers are
Professor Terry Gifford of Alicante and Bath Spa Universities; Professor
Neil Roberts of the University of Sheffield; Professor Gerald Dawe and
Dr Gillian Groszewski of Trinity College Dublin; and Dr Mark
Wormald, Director of Studies at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Hughes’
Alma Mater. The programme will also include a poetry reading by Harry
Clifton, former Ireland Professor of Poetry.
With its gathering of
leading authorities on Ted Hughes, the weekend promises to be a
convivial and rewarding event – a welcome opportunity for anyone
interested in Ted Hughes’ life and work, and poetry in general.
For full details on programme and booking, please visit www.tedhughesweekend.com or phone Doonreagan at 095 31049. Special rates are available for students and for local accommodation.
