SYLVIA. PLATH

BELL JAR.

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was one of the writers who defined the course of twentieth-century poetry. In the Letters, we discover the art of Plath's correspondence. Most has never before been published, and it is here presented unabridged, without revision, so that she speaks directly in her own words. The letters document Plath's extraordinary literary development: the genesis of many poems, short and long fiction, and journalism. Leading Plath scholars Peter K. Steinberg and Karen V. Kukil, editor of The Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962, provide comprehensive footnotes and an extensive index informed by their meticulous research. Alongside a selection of photographs and Plath's own drawings, they masterfully contextualise what the pages disclose. This later correspondence witnesses Plath and Hughes becoming major, influential contemporary writers, as it happened. Experiences recorded include first books and other publications; teaching; committing to writing full-time; travels; making professional acquaintances; settling in England; starting a family; and buying a house. Throughout, Plath's voice is completely, uniquely her own.

1956 - 1963

Letters of Sylvia Plath Volume II

Every day from nine to five I sit at my desk facing the door of the office and type up other people's dreams. An office assistant in a hospital pursues a secret vocation. A girl endures a series of initiation ceremonies to join her high school sorority. A married woman seeks relief from the dull realities of daily life. From her mid-teens Sylvia Plath wrote stories, twenty-four of which are collected here, along with works of journalism and extracts from her journal. 'All the pieces presented here are revealing . . . It ought to round out one's knowledge of the writer, and, perhaps, offer some surprises. Luckily it does both.' Margaret Atwood, New York Times 'A beautiful, delicate, commanding poet.' Lena Dunham 'She embodied a seismic shift in consciousness which enabled us to feel and think as we do today, and of which she was a supremely vulnerable and willing casualty. She changed our world.' Margaret Drabble, Guardian

SYLVIA. PLATH

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