HUGHES, Ted. Letter to Charles Monteith.
Single leaf, in the hand of Ted Hughes. Dated 21th January 1985 and sent from Hughes’s Devon address, Court Green.
This letter provides a fascinating insight into the Poet Laureateship, the relationship of two great poets and the institutional pride of a revered modern publishing house. The addressee is Charles Monteith, the Faber & Faber editor who played a large part in Hughes's career:
“Dear Charles, Thank you for the salutations. Whatever demands there may be to this new job, there seem to be lots of small pleasures to begin with. It seems to be about the nicest thing I’ve given to my old friends – or could have given. And that’s a pleasure. And we’ve kept it in the firm. When I accepted I still assumed that Philip [Larkin] had refused. Must have refused. One vote in my decision was “If he refused and I refuse – it will leave the firm." (I don’t know how many votes there were in all – secret ballot). I hope we shall indeed be able to share a glass of sack. There seems to be some possibility that the sherry institute of Spain will be inviting me to choose my “butt of sherry sack”. Isn’t a modern “butt” about the size of a Faber gift? Happy New Year, Ted”.
The background to this letter is Philip Larkin's refusal of the post of Poet Laureate on the death of John Betjeman, due to his feeling that he had nothing to offer the post. Hughes was offered the role instead, and here he makes it sound as if he accepted it merely to ‘keep it in the firm’ of Faber & Faber, who were then, as now, considered to be the foremost publishers of modern poetry. Both Larkin and Hughes were edited by Monteith there. Hughes was, perhaps, being disingenuous here, shrugging off the perceived slight of being second choice for the role. He, in fact, considered the laureateship as a platform for his campaigning, particularly on environmental issues.
Larkin and Hughes were not great fans of each other. Ted called Philip “a sour old cuss” in previous instances, while Philip considered Ted “a great thug of a man” and “The Incredible Hulk”.
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