Today in our poetry new round up, we look at a sculpture dedicated to Ted Hughes, a collection of Seamus Heaney memorabilia and a photograph linked to the Garip movement that has recently been auctioned.

New Application for Ted Hughes Sculpture Made

A new planning application has been submitted for a sculpture in honour of the late poet Ted Hughes. Hughes, who was appointed poet laureate in 1984, died holding the office in 1998.

The application has been made by Royd Regeneration, a voluntary community-based organisation, to erect an iron sculpture, 2 metres in height, in Mytholmroyd. This is the second application that the group have submitted, the previous one, which planners approved 2 years ago, was objected to by the poet’s widow, who was not consulted and did not feel that the designs that were submitted were appropriate.

The local council will now consider the application.

The poet was born in the village in 1930 and lived there until he was seven, when his family moved to Mexborough. His most memorable works include “The Iron Man” and his collections of poetry. There is currently just a small plaque in the village near his former home to show his connection to his place of birth.

The poet’s widow was his second wife. He was previously married to fellow poet Sylvia Plath.

Expert from BBC Antiques Roadshow Refuses to Value Poet-Related Item

A specialist in rare books and manuscripts working with the BB Antiques Roadshow recently decided not to put a price on an item in a poetry collection.

During the show, which took place in Belfast, the expert was confronted with a collection of works by the Irish poet Seamus Heaney. The archive collection, which was from the Seamus Heaney Centre, which is in Belfast, was significant and included some of the earliest materials linked to the poet, including a copy of the first edition of his first poetry collection, and copies of The Gorgon, the University’s published magazine.

Many of the works were published in very small numbers, with the first few published under the name Incertus, the Latin for uncertain, rather than the poet’s name.

Other items in the collection includes the poet’s application for admission to the University of Belfast, dated October 1957 and also the student record for Heaney which formed part of the university register – this is the item that the expert would not put a price on due to the unique nature of the piece, further commenting that in terms of cultural value they were immeasurable.

The collection of books and magazines, however, he was happy to offer a value on, saying that he felt they would be worth between £8,000 and £10,000.

Iconic Photograph of “Garip” Poets Sells at Auction

An iconic image of Turkish Literary history, which features a number of poets from the “Garip” movement, has been sold at auction, where it fetched $11,000 (428,000 Turkish Liras).

The photograph features the founding poets of the movement, Orhan Veli Kanık, Oktay Rıfat and Melik Cevdet Anday and has long been an important association with the literary movement. It also bears the signatures of the three poets and the inscription “To our dearest teacher, poet Yahya Saim Bey.”