According to its publishers, "Birthday Letters" marks the breaking of a 35-year-long silence.

None of this struggle is reflected in "Birthday Letters."

But another myth has been growing since Hughes died in 1999, or perhaps since he published his Birthday Letters.

Hughes died not long after "Birthday Letters" came out, and most of the people who knew him and Sylvia are now in their 70's.

When he knew himself to be dying, in 1997, he determined, in some secrecy, to release "Birthday Letters."

How have Hughes' opponents and proponents exploited Birthday Letters ?

It was one of his last published works along with Birthday Letters.

At the same time, the poems in "Birthday Letters" evince a new directness and vulnerability.

His last poetic work, Birthday Letters (1998), explored their complex relationship.

All but a handful of the 88 poems in "Birthday Letters" have not been published before.