Ted Hughes’ daughter tells Mexborough how Poet Laureate inspired her work

POET Laureate’s daughter Freida Hughes returned to her dad’s old home town to tell lovers of his verse how he inspired her to write.

Ms Hughes, whose late father Ted was celebrated in Mexborough with a series of events making up the second annual festival in his honour, gave readings of her own poetry at Mexborough Business Centre.

It was one of the highlights of a nine-day festival which included readings, talks, walks an art displays.

Guests and performers at the festival included acclaimed poets Helen Mort, Greg Leadbetter, Vidyan Ravithiran, Cathy Galvin, who will gave readings, while Greg and Vidyan also joined a roundtable discussion titled Politics and Ted Hughes.

Musician Mick Jenkinson performed his acoustic arrangements of some of the ballads Ted Hughes would sing as an undergraduate in the pubs of Cambridge, while Matthew Clegg and singer-songwriter Ray Hearne reprised their popular A Navigation performance trail and poet Ed Reiss led a poetry walk from Mexborough to Sprotbrough Falls.

Prof David Morley, winner of the Ted Hughes Award, said: “This is the liveliest poetry festival in the UK.

“It arises from the community, embraces the community, and takes them to other worlds.”

The festival also include a session with Steve Ely and Dominic Somers, from arts group Right Up Our Street, who led an updated version of the ever-popular “Ted Hughes’ Paper Round”, and Mexborough poet Ian Parks hosted an evening devoted another Mexborough poet, Harold Massingham.

Visual arts was represented by photographer Karl Hurst’s Ted Hughes-based exhibition and Hughes-themed work from local art groups and there were poetry-based activities for the public to join in with on Mexborough High Street.