The Bell Jar (22 page)
Authors: Sylvia Plath
Meet Sylvia Plath
SYLVIA PLATH
was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1932. She graduated from Smith College in 1955 and won a Fulbright Scholarship to Cambridge University. Her books include the poetry collections
Ariel
,
The Colossus
,
Crossing the Water
,
Winter Trees
, and
The Collected Poems
, which won the Pulitzer Prize.
The Bell Jar
is her only novel. She was married to the poet Ted Hughes, and together they had two children. She died in London in 1963.
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Have You Read?
More by Sylvia Plath
ARIEL: THE RESTORED EDITION
It was upon the publication of this posthumous volume of poetry in the mid-1960s that Sylvia Plath became a household name. This new facsimile edition restores, for the first time, the selection and arrangement of the poems as Plath left them at the point of her death, as well as working drafts of the title poem, numerous author notes, and a foreword by Frieda Hughes, Plath's daughter.
“One of the most devastatingly moving and universally beloved books of poetry published in the twentieth century.”
âTime
“It's hard to read the original manuscript without trying to understand what Hughes was thinking when he left out certain poems and included others. She loved him. He hurt her. All of us who love her work are caught like children in that crossfire forever.”
âLos Angeles Times
CROSSING THE WATER: TRANSITIONAL POEMS
First published in 1971, the second posthumous volume of Sylvia Plath's poems includes “Parliament Hill Fields” and many other arresting works.
“Such is Plath's control that the book possesses a singularity and certainty, which should make it as celebrated as
The Colossus
or
Ariel
. . . . In this period of Plath's poetry, objects come toward the reader like frightening Greek messengers.”
âNew Statesman
(1971)
THE COLLECTED POEMS
Containing all the poems that Sylvia Plath wrote after 1956, this is one of the most comprehensive collections of her work. Plath was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for
The Collected Poems
in 1982. The collection is edited, annotated, and introduced by Ted Hughes.
“This book will remind readers that the woman behind the myth was indeed a brilliant writer. The familiar poems retain their wild loveliness through continued rereading. Even the juvenilia show her startling combination of confident, rhythmic voice and energetic despair.”
âLibrary Journal
JOHNNY PANIC AND THE BIBLE OF DREAMS: SHORT STORIES, PROSE, AND DIARY EXCERPTS
This collection of short stories, essays, and diary excerpts highlights Sylvia Plath's fierce concentration on craft, the vitality of her intelligence, and the yearnings of her imagination. Featuring an introduction by Plath's husband, the late British poet Ted Hughes, these writings also reflect themes and images she would fully realize in her poetry.
“[A]ll the pieces presented here are revealing.”
âMargaret Atwood,
New York Times
(1979)
LETTERS HOME: CORRESPONDENCE, 1950â1963
(selected and edited, with commentary by Aurelia Schober Plath)
Nearly four hundred of Sylvia Plath's letters comprise this remarkably insightful volume, which spans the poet's life from her freshman year at Smith College to the days approaching her death in London.
“Finally now, young women writers can cease to identify with the apparent self-destroyer in Sylvia Plath and begin to understand the forces she had to reckon with. What comes across in these letters is a survivor who knew that to be a writer means discipline, indefatigable commitment, and passion for hard work.”
âAdrienne Rich
THE COLOSSUS AND OTHER POEMS
This powerful collection, originally published in the United States in 1960, contains some of the best poems ever written by Plath, including “The Beekeeper's Daughter,” “The Disquieting Muses,” and “I Want, I Want.”
WINTER TREES
First published in the United States in 1972,
Winter Trees
is one of Plath's most searing collections and contains the radio play “Three Women,” which was set in a maternity ward.
THE BED BOOK
Plath's book for children is a delightful look into beds more fun than the average bed such as a jet-propelled bed, a snack bed, a pocket-size bed, and a bounceable bed.
THE UNABRIDGED JOURNALS OF SYLVIA PLATH
(edited by Karen V. Kukil)
A fascinating and comprehensive transcription of Plath's journals from age eleven to her death at age thirty.
THE BELL JAR CD UNABRIDGED
On CD for the first time, this unabridged edition of Sylvia Plath's classic novel is performed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
SYLVIA PLATH READS
(audio cassette)
This unique, compelling recording has been heralded as “a significant tribute to and record of the lyric art that Sylvia Plath left to the literary heritage of America” (
Booklist
).
“Listening to her poetryâfull of alliteration and liquid vowel soundsâis something like listening to music.”
âPhiladelphia Inquirer
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.
P
OETRY
The Colossus
Ariel
Crossing the Water: Transitional Poems
Winter Trees
The Collected Poems
Ariel: The Restored Edition
P
ROSE
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
(edited by Karen V. Kukil)
L
ETTERS
Letters Home: Correspondence, 1950-1963
(selected and edited, with commentary by Aurelia Schober Plath)
F
OR
C
HILDREN
The Bed Book
The It-Doesn't-Matter Suit
Mrs. Cherry's Kitchen