sylvia plath
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“Living On Air”
Via the Poetry Foundation, Open Culture has a 23-minute experimental film by Sandra Lahire using audio of Sylvia Plath reading her poems aloud. Mixing images of Plath’s obsessions (ouija boards, horses, violent self-harm) with photographs of the poet and her work,…
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Surprising Children’s Book Authors
Sylvia Plath wrote a children’s book…and apparently Jim Carrey is going to as well? Brain Pickings has scans of the text and charming illustrations of Plath’s book, a story about young Max Nix and his bright yellow It Doesn’t Matter…
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“A ‘Fuck You’ to Women Everywhere”
I can imagine complaining along these lines in an editorial meeting at a British publishing house, and being sighed at: “Yes, of course the 1960s cover is beautiful – I love it – but Waterstones and Tesco won’t stock it.” At the London…
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Fact and Fiction in The Bell Jar
How much of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar is autobiographical, and how much is fictional? Is her unflinching exploration of suicidal depression more meaningful if it’s a record of real life or if it’s invented? The Guardian tackles these questions (and posts a…
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Kurt Vonnegut and Other “Inveterate Doodlers”
Sylvia Plath may not be best known for her paper dolls, but we don’t usually envision Mark Twain as an avid fan of scrapbooking, either. Check out this cool collection of the artwork of famous authors, which also includes William…
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The Bell Jar Turns 40
“It’s always interesting when a very strange book is also an enduringly popular book.” This Poetry Foundation essay is appreciating The Bell Jar, which is embarking on its 40th year of publication. Initially unnoticed for its literary prowess in Britain,…
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The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning
Perhaps the glue of cruelty’s hold is not its “art” but its performance, its visceral slap, its full-frontal assault.
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The Silent Woman
An account of the marriage between Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller says a lot about the actress’s hygiene and sexual habits. The relationship, not so much.
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The Rumpus Sunday Book Blog Roundup
“Do not chew on the headphone cords!” — From @electriclit, passive aggressive library signs. Marc Jacobs is pissing off literary West Villagers by opening a book store. At The Guardian, Christine Granados has some fightin’ words for Cormac McCarthy and…
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A Girl Asleep in a Dream of Herself in a Dream
Gothic dreamscapes and hypnotic investigations of the self beguile the reader of Monica Ferrell’s debut collection.
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Poems Out Loud
For National Poetry Month, Poems Out Loud is featuring people reading their favorite poems aloud. The construction worker who describes his job as “a lot of digging” loves Walt Whitman, and not just because he writes about “common Americans” and…