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shelf_inspiration 's review for:
Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath
by Heather Clark
5 Stars
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“I write only because there is a voice within me that will not be still.” - Red Comet.
Determined not to read Plath's work as if her every act, from childhood on, was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark presents new materials about Plath's scientist father, her juvenile writings, and her psychiatric treatment, and evokes a culture in transition in the mid-twentieth century, in the shadow of the atom bomb and the Holocaust, as she explores Sylvia's world: her early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; her conflicted ties to her well-meaning, widowed mother; her troubles at the hands of an unenlightened mental-health industry; and her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes, a true marriage of minds that would change the course of poetry in English. Clark's clear-eyed sympathy for Hughes, his lover Assia Wevill, and other demonized players in the arena of Plath's suicide promotes a deeper understanding of her final days, with their outpouring of first-rate poems. Along with illuminating readings of the poems themselves, Clark's meticulous, compassionate research brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women poets the world over.
This was such an amazingly detailed biography and deep-dive into Sylvia Plath’s life and her art. The details were well cited and the author presented the biography in a humanizing light that really showed who Sylvia Plath was as a woman, mother, and artist. I especially loved how this biography looked into her poetry, showed its progression, the connections to Sylvia’s literary influences, and her own memories of her life. I definitely learned so much from this biography and think it will be a great reference for reading the rest of Sylvia’s work. If you are interested in reading about Sylvia Plath this is a biography I would recommend. Also, it is about 1,100+ pages long, so it will keep you busy for a while!
See more on my Bookstagram: Shelf.Inspiration Instagram
“I write only because there is a voice within me that will not be still.” - Red Comet.
Determined not to read Plath's work as if her every act, from childhood on, was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark presents new materials about Plath's scientist father, her juvenile writings, and her psychiatric treatment, and evokes a culture in transition in the mid-twentieth century, in the shadow of the atom bomb and the Holocaust, as she explores Sylvia's world: her early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; her conflicted ties to her well-meaning, widowed mother; her troubles at the hands of an unenlightened mental-health industry; and her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes, a true marriage of minds that would change the course of poetry in English. Clark's clear-eyed sympathy for Hughes, his lover Assia Wevill, and other demonized players in the arena of Plath's suicide promotes a deeper understanding of her final days, with their outpouring of first-rate poems. Along with illuminating readings of the poems themselves, Clark's meticulous, compassionate research brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women poets the world over.
This was such an amazingly detailed biography and deep-dive into Sylvia Plath’s life and her art. The details were well cited and the author presented the biography in a humanizing light that really showed who Sylvia Plath was as a woman, mother, and artist. I especially loved how this biography looked into her poetry, showed its progression, the connections to Sylvia’s literary influences, and her own memories of her life. I definitely learned so much from this biography and think it will be a great reference for reading the rest of Sylvia’s work. If you are interested in reading about Sylvia Plath this is a biography I would recommend. Also, it is about 1,100+ pages long, so it will keep you busy for a while!