Alternative Values: poems & paintings

by Frieda Hughes

Frieda Hughes’s poems and paintings reflect her early years in Devon and Yorkshire, and her later experiences when living in London, Australia, and most recently, Wales. From childhood, writing and painting have been the two driving forces behind her commitment to life. They first came together in her illustration of two of her seven published children’s books, and through her cartoons – she was cartoonist for the West Australian Magazine when living in Western Australia in the early 90s. In 2002 Frieda Hughes received a NESTA Award to undertake her work on Forty-five, a summary of her life to that age in 45 poems and a 225 foot long, 4 foot high, 45 panel abstract depicting the emotional landscape of her life. This was the beginning of a growing collaboration between her poetry and her artwork, which is now further realised in Alternative Values, which includes 60 full-colour plates of both her abstract and her semi-figurative work. The paintings were shown at the Belgravia Gallery, London, where the book was launched in October 2015. ‘What do we mean to each other and how are we valued? It’s all about perspective; many of these poems explore relationships, attitudes, and how we look back at our childhoods with the eyes of adults, so often having lost that sense of what it was actually like to be a child, when we stumbled into our future with fear, hope or trepidation. Here, I subject my own history and childhood to examination in respect of the way I see others, and myself.’ – Frieda Hughes on Alternative Values

Genres: Poetry, Art

112 pages, Paperback

Published October 22, 2015

About the author

Frieda Hughes is an English poet and painter who has spent much of her life in Australia. She has published seven children's books and four poetry collections. She is the daughter of the poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, really. Mixed overall, but some poems are compelling.

[Rehan Qayoom]

Relatives know how to pull the root
That taps our most sensitive nerve.

('Relative Values').

[Karen Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner from Frieda Hughes. Positioning poems and paintings together is fantastic - and seeing the "Uncropped Paintings" at the back - all lined up - really adds to their impact.

Anyone familiar with the author's life story and other works will particularly find a lot of wonder here. "New Language" - about her brother - is so touching. I re-read the last poem, "For Shura," several times - what insights.

[Laura Glasgow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frieda Hughes is one of my favorite poets. She is a brilliant, multifaceted artist. I never grow tired of reading her work and admiring her incredible paintings. She also writes wonderfully about animals she rescues (search George: A Magpie Memoir and her great videos on Instagram). I think when someone is as talented as Hughes, people want to put that person into a box. Some describe/see her as “a poet who happens to paint”, for example, but that is a grave mistake. She has mastered several art forms. I enjoy getting a peek into how she views the world through every medium she uses to create.