Info on Ted Hughes

Subject: Info on Ted Hughes
From: Fay
Date: 20 Nov 02 - 11:46 AM

I've been told that former poet laurate Ted Hughes was a bit of a trad singer. Does anyone have any evidenc of this, or ideas of how I might find out.

Ta Fay x

Subject: RE: Info on Ted Hughes
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 20 Nov 02 - 04:41 PM

Subject: RE: Info on Ted Hughes
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 20 Nov 02 - 04:45 PM

(Sorry accidental transmission there).

There is an interview with Hughes published in the Paris Review, Spring 1995 given at this (Leipzig university) site: Ted Hughes Interview" which suggests this was so.

The start of one of his answers is:

"HUGHES: Sylvia and I met because she was curious about my group of friends at university and I was curious about her. I was working in London but I used to go back up to Cambridge at weekends. Half a dozen or so of us made a poetic gang. Our main cooperative activity was drinking in the Anchor and our main common interest, apart from fellow feeling and mutual attraction, was Irish, Scottish and Welsh traditional songs - folk songs and broadsheet ballads. We sang a lot. Recorded folk song was rare in those days".

Mick

Subject: RE: Info on Ted Hughes
From: GUEST,Fay
Date: 21 Nov 02 - 08:55 AM

Thanks Mick, I'll have a look. Fay x

Subject: RE: Info on Ted Hughes
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Oct 16 - 05:13 PM

Lost tapes of Ted Hughes "Life & Songs of the Crow" from 1070 are here:

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/jep995i4lax44/Crow_-_Ted_Hughes_-_1970

** Crow - Ted Hughes

* Hughes on Crow - Ted Hughes interviewed by George MacBeth (1970)

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/571546f84b1d4449b3642790edfc981b

Hughes on Crow

BBC Radio 3, 3 December 1970 20.55

Synopsis
TED HUGHES talks tO GEORGE MACBETH about the background and meaning of his Crow poems,
(Crow can be heard tomorrow at 8.50 pm)

Contributors

Talks: Ted Hughes
Unknown: George MacBeth

* Ted Hughes reads "Crow - the Life and Songs of the Crow" (1970)

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/429f5c06b453452a97662fed1280460a
http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/e3b3ddb3928a4a328a57523ac978e344

Crow

BBC Radio 3, 9 October 1970 20.45
BBC Radio 3, 4 December 1970 20.50

Synopsis

The Life and Songs of the Crow by TED HUGHES

Read by TED HUGHES, MICHAEL HORDERN, DENIS GOACHER and SEAN BARRETT

In this sequence of poems Crow, 'God's nightmare,' is created, survives various adventures and ordeals and disasters, and finally, King of carrion, reigns over silence.

Produced by DOUGLAS CLEVERDON

Contributors

Unknown: Ted Hughes
Read By: Ted Hughes
Read By: Michael Hordern
Read By: Denis Goacher
Read By: Sean Barrett
Produced By: Douglas Cleverdon

====

At the start is a BBC interview with Ted Hughes and George MacBeth about how the Crow mythology started. This was only aired once. The recording itself is somewhat interesting. The intro. is definitely the Beeb one - actually for the one and only repeat of the programme on 4 December 1970. And the sequence of poems is certainly read by Ted Hughes and Michael Hordern, etc., as per the two genome entries. However there are clicks and pops on the recording - which took hours to edit out - indicating that the actual programme might have come from a record!!

====

Cadenza at the Bitish Library Sound Archives lists the following:

http://cadensa.bl.uk/cgi-bin/webcat - search words "ted hughes crow"

Search Results
any words or numbers "ted hughes crow" search found 3 titles.

#1 Details
1CD0286783 D2 BD1-3 BRITISH LIBRARY        1970
Poetry now. The crow poems, a discussion
Hughes, Ted, 1930-1998 (speaker, male; interviewee)

#2 Details
C1066/20        1970
Now read on (excerpt)
BBC Radio series. This edition features poet Ted Hughes reading from and talking about his poem 'Crow'.
Recorded 9 October 1970. Preserved in the BBC Sound Archive

#3 Details
M8480R BD 1        
Now read on: Ted Hughes
Magnusson, Magnus, 1929-2006 (speaker, male; presenter)

Question: Does this imply that they have the Interview but not the full programme of 'Songs'?

====

Barry Hodge of 'MissingEpisodes.proboards.com' opined:

#1's from where 'your' interview was originally broadcast (and, as said, repeated the day before Crow's repeat):
http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio3/1970-07-06#at-22.30

#2/3 was a year-end review with clips (perhaps of Crow, perhaps of the interview):
http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio4/fm/1970-12-30#at-21.00

So, it looks like the Beeb doesn't have Crow itself, and nor does the BL - and the BL may have the full interview, but the Beeb, again, probably does not.

====

CJB

Subject: RE: Info on Ted Hughes
From: GUEST,Mike Yates
Date: 22 Oct 16 - 06:30 AM

I was once visiting the Vaughan Williams Library at Cecil Sharp House, London, when Ted Hughes walked in. He asked the Librarian, Malcolm Taylor, about a set of Gaelic texts, which the Library possessed. Malcolm produced the books and told Hughes that members could borrow them. So Ted Hughers joined the EFDSS on the spot!
Hughes then left with the books. I asked Malcolm if I could see the completed application form, just to confirm that it actually was Ted Hughes, and discovered that Malcolm, much to my surprise, had not recognised the poet!