January 8, 1999

When a Writer's Extratextual Life Challenges Our Prejudices and Acumen

By HENRY TAYLOR

What does it mean to be a famous writer? The question was thrown into sharp relief in obituaries after the death, on October 28, of Ted Hughes, poet laureate of England. For many years, his work ranged restlessly and energetically over a variety of serious ambitions; his willingness to risk failure -- spectacular failure, in some cases -- also led him to his greatest triumphs. To writers of news copy, however, the

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