Gail Crowther

"A dual biography of poets, friends, and rivals Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton"--

The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton

Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz

Haunted Reader and Sylvia Plath

Elizabeth Sigmund

An unique analysis of a crucial period in the life of this iconic writer, who tragically committed suicide just months later.

A Year's Turning

Sylvia Plath in Devon

Peter Steinberg

The Unearthing of Sylvia Plath

These Ghostly Archives

Peter K. Steinberg

The authors discuss Sylvia Plath archival discoveries in unique ways, unearthing previously unknown materials and bringing new context to well-known worksNew essays on the sociological notion of ‘haunting’ in the archiveInnovative approaches to distance/international collaboration in archival scholarshipIntroduces new ways of understanding Sylvia PlathPlath’s The Bell Jar is to be released in 2018 as a major film starring Dakota Fanning and directed by Kirsten Dunst These Ghostly Archives: The Unearthing of Sylvia Plath offers a ground-breaking look at Plath studies. Focusing on previously unpublished material found in archives from around the world, These Ghostly Archives aims to reconstruct the ghostly figure of Plath within our culture via unseen letters, manuscripts, photographs, places and poems. This book approaches archival studies exploring both the practical and experiential work carried out in the archive, highlighting the ‘detective’-type work that it involves and the traces left behind from history. However, for the first time, this work also combines the sociological notion of ‘haunting’ - that is, the archive as a location where researchers haunt the research subject and in turn are haunted by the traces left behind. Never is material culture more powerful than when associated with the dead; never is the archive ghostlier when haunted by the absent presence of Plath. This book showcases the necessity to leave no archival box or folder left unopened, and how the researcher and the archive can change even though its documents might stay the same. Illustrations: 32 colour photographs

Primary research exploring why many of Sylvia Plath’s readers become so attached to her as a cultural figureAn innovative and theoretical approach to the relationship between author and readerPreviously unpublished photographsA creative exploration of ways in which fandom can manifest itself The Haunted Reader and Sylvia Plath takes an unusual approach to studies on this enigmatic literary figure, focusing on the readers rather than the historical figure herself. Working from the premise that Plath is a highly visible cultural figure, this book explores why her readers become so attached to her. Why does she have such a large and devoted following? What is it about her that attracts people and once they are drawn in, how does this fandom manifest itself? This book is based on primary research carried out by the author who has collected stories and accounts from readers of Plath and explores key areas such as the first encounter with Plath, ways in which fans feel they ‘double’ with her, pilgrimages that they make to places where she lived and worked, how they interact with her images and how they respond to objects owned by Plath. This study is unique and there is no other book that deals with this subject. As such, The Haunted Reader and Sylvia Plath offers a fascinating and original approach not only to Plath scholarship, but to the increasing body of literature on fandom studies. Illustrations: 13 black-and-white photographs

Gail Crowther

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