After a writing career which spanned over 40 years, Hughes’ literary heritage is not only vast, but covers most genres, including not only poetry, but translations of the works of other poets and prose writers, short stories for children and adults, plays, letters and journals and numerous anthologies This day school focuses on the poetry that he created in the early years of that prodigious career and concentrates on the three collections; The Hawk in the Rain, Lupercal and Wodwo.

By necessity there will be some consideration of his marriage to the American poet Sylvia Plath, but this will not be the main focus of the day. If there is sufficient interest, it is hoped to have another day school looking at his later poetry, particularly Birthday Letters, not simply as his own, very personal account of his marriage to Plath, but also as poetic masterpieces in their own right.