This edition reprints the revised 1993 text of River - as included in Three Books (1993) - and an appendix that includes poems from the original sequence which were omitted from the later volume.

Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was born in Yorkshire. His first book, The Hawk in the Rain, was published in 1957 by Faber and Faber and was followed by many volumes of poetry and prose for adults and children. He received the Whitbread Book of the Year for two consecutive years for his last published collections of poetry, Talesfrom Ovid (1997) and Birthday Letters (1998). He was Poet Laureate from 1984 and in 1998 he was appointed to the Order of Merit.