Unpublished Ted Hughes poems purchased by British Library

A number of unpublished Ted Hughes poems, personal letters and other works have been purchased by the British Library.

The organisation has spent GBP 29,500 on an archive of letters and papers which were previously owned by the poet's sister, Olwyn.

Unpublished poems from the early 1960s are included in the collection, which features 41 letters written to Olwyn by Hughes and his wife Sylvia Plath.

The British Library's modern literary manuscripts curator Helen Broderick believes that the collection may help to shed more light on Hughes' early writing career.

She added: 'Hughes' insights into life in America are particularly fascinating and the archive complements the British Library's existing Hughes collections by covering this key period of change and development in his life.'

Born in Yorkshire in 1930, Hughes' most celebrated poetry books include Birthday Letters and Tales from Ovid. He served as poet laureate prior to Andrew Motion.