Sylvia Plath: Poems
Poems selected by Ted Hughes, who was Plath's husband but also was England's Poet Laureate from 1984 to his death in 1998. It is the norm in this series for the selecting poet to provide an intro, which he did not. I wonder if this is coincidental or if it has something to do with how he was treated after her suicide. I also wonder if his relationship with Plath affected his choices. Finally, and this is my fault, because I knew it but didn't think of it when making my purchase: Hughes liked to write nature poetry. So when reading this collection, with plentiful references to trees, flowers, moon, and ocean, etc. - I wonder if it's indicative of Plath's writing or Hughes's topical preference.
Anyway, all that aside, these are the pieces that stood out to me:
"Suicide off Egg Rock"
"Insomniac"
"Birthday Present"
This is the city of spare parts. - "The Stones"
Vague as fog and looked for like mail. - "You're"
I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets. - "Elm"
Rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars.
(originally published in February 2015, on Goodreads.)
i watched that film sylvia with gwyneth paltrow and daniel craig, and if the film's even remotely accurate, he was a dick. that he couldn't offer an introduction for this when HE PICKED OUT THE POEMS, and i'm with you, by the way that he probably exhibited some bias in the selection, is just proof that the man was a callous douche. but i shouldn't speak so ill of the dead...
ReplyDeleteI might have to see that film. I've read Birthday Letters, his collection of poems about their relationship. But that was obviously his angle on things.
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