Dear Plathians, This newsletter shares a name with my forthcoming book, but I intend for it to be the place I can say all the wild things about Plath and the snarky things about Hughes that would never make it past an editor. Back in August of 2019, on the day I was offered a contract for LOVING SYLVIA PLATH (which I am in the process of finishing), my editor said to me,
Emily, I love everything about this. I, too, learned not to say that my favorite poets were Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton. People acted like I was an embarrassment or a cliche. It's entirely dismissive of their genius & it carries forward the "thou shalt not" write confessional poetry warnings that seem only to apply to female writers. I'm so excited for your book & this newsletter. You. Kick. Ass.
i love Sylvia, but am currently trying to figure out how to come to terms with her racism, especially in The Bell Jar. for context, i'm a white person, and also a poet. Sylvia's collected works was my first book of poems I ever owned. I've written so many poems for her, about her, after her... I'm even making a zine all about her. but people on twitter recently are really coming for her racism, and i don't want to be the kind of person who dismisses such things. Have you come into contact with this problem? If so how do you deal with it in your own love for Sylvia?
Emily, I love everything about this. I, too, learned not to say that my favorite poets were Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton. People acted like I was an embarrassment or a cliche. It's entirely dismissive of their genius & it carries forward the "thou shalt not" write confessional poetry warnings that seem only to apply to female writers. I'm so excited for your book & this newsletter. You. Kick. Ass.
Great fire here professor smarty.
i love Sylvia, but am currently trying to figure out how to come to terms with her racism, especially in The Bell Jar. for context, i'm a white person, and also a poet. Sylvia's collected works was my first book of poems I ever owned. I've written so many poems for her, about her, after her... I'm even making a zine all about her. but people on twitter recently are really coming for her racism, and i don't want to be the kind of person who dismisses such things. Have you come into contact with this problem? If so how do you deal with it in your own love for Sylvia?