Poetry First

Ted Hughes
March 1960

Baby about to come,
my book Lupercal praised,
I’m pushed into the posh lounge

of esteemed British poets—
Eliot, Spender, and the like.
My wife also will see her
first book born in print.

Britain adores us,
gathers us under smoky wings
so poetry comes
before labor pains.

We are artists first,
our children will be
second works.

Ted Hughes’s book Lupercal received excellent reviews and transformed Ted into a major figure in British poetry. It allowed Ted and Sylvia introduction into London’s literary set.