Teenage Plath writing & artwork acquired by the Lilly Library

On Tuesday 22 September, at a one day book conference entitled "Books in Hard Times" held at the Grolier Club in New York, I had the chance to speak briefly with Breon Mitchell, director of the Lilly Library. He mentioned during his talk - on libraries collecting during 'hard times' that they still add to their collections when possible. Acquiring is just more strict. Of their impressive holdings, he singled out their Plath materials as being a collection that is still growing, mentioning their recent acquisition of some Plath juvenalia. I asked him during a break what they acquired, and I am exceedingly happy to report that they are the holders of the Plath manuscripts that were just up at auction from Sotheby's in July.

So, although that signed copy of The Colossus is now for sale - and will be presumably for a while - these "juvenalia" are available - right now - for researchers to use. One of the manuscripts Mr. Mitchell particularly mentioned was the list of books read that Plath made.I couldn't agree more that knowing what Plath read in her adolescent, formative years, is of infinite importance.

The items purchased at Sotheby's make up Plath mss. V, 1944–1945. From the IU catalog, Plath mss. V "consists of three items of early Sylvia Plath juvenilia: an autographed manuscript with drawings, entitled "Christmas Booklet", signed "Sylvia Plath" (with 9 illustrated leaves beginning with an illustrated wrapper decorated with paper cut outs of a candle and holly branches, an illustrated title page followed by a thank–you letter to "Aunt Frieda" dated December 26, 1944, a short story and two poems); an 11–page, pencil manuscript hand–made stapled booklet entitled "The Treasures of Sylvia Plath," with her notes on several book titles she apparently read while participating in a reading club including treasures or maxims from each work such as "The Silver Pencil," "The White Stag," and "Stand Fast and Reply" among others; and an illustrated, typescript poem in the form of a get–well card."

It is wonderful that these items found their way to an institution and particularly to one that is continuing to grow its collection. As this blog and my website have documented, Sylvia Plath's papers have found their way to dozens of repositories. One can really add to their frequent flyer miles!

In addition to hearing from librarians, the conference heard from book dealers and book collectors. Each aspect of the book world detailed how collecting has had to change its ways and means in these "difficult economic times". It was particularly illuminating hearing from the dealers and the collectors as each needs the other so much. If you are a book dealer, librarian, or collector, you may be interested in reading more on Philobiblos.

Famous Quotes of Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath inspires us all in various and wonderful ways. She is in many respects a form of comfort to us, which is something that Esther Greenwood expresses in The Bell Jar , about a bath: "There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them. Whenever I'm sad I'm going to die, or so nervous I can't sleep, or in love with somebody I won't be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say: 'I'll go take a hot bath.'" We read and remember Sylvia Plath for many reasons, many of them deeply personal and private. But we commemorate her, too, in very public ways, as Anna of the long-standing Tumblr Loving Sylvia Plath , has been tracking, in the form of tattoos. (Anna's on Instagram with it too, as SylviaPlathInk .) The above bath quote is among Sylvia Plath's most famous. It often appears here and there and it is stripped of its context. But I think most people will know it is from her nove...

Some final photographs of Sylvia Plath

Susan O'Neill-Roe took a series of photographs of Sylvia Plath and her children from October to late November (or maybe early December) 1962 while she was a day nanny/mother's help at Court Green. From nearby Belstone , it was a short drive to North Tawton and the aid she provided enabled Plath to complete the masterful October and November poems and also to make day or overnight trips to London for poetry business and other business. Some of O'Neill-Roe's photographs are well-known. However, a cache of photographs formed a part of the papers of failed biographer Harriet Rosenstein. They were sold separately from the rest of her papers that went to Emory. I was fortunate enough to see low resolution scans of them a while back so please note these are being posted today as mere reference quality images. There are two series here. The first of the children with Plath dressed in red and black. (This should be referred to in the future, please, as Plath's Stendhal-c...

Sylvia Plath's Gravestone Vandalized

The following news story appeared online this morning: HEPTONSTALL, ENGLAND (APFS) - The small village of Heptonstall is once again in the news because of the grave site of American poet Sylvia Plath. The headstone controversy rose to a fever pitch in 1989 when Plath's grave was left unmarked for a long period of time after vandals repeatedly chiseled her married surname Hughes off the stone marker. Author Nick Hornby commented, "I like Plath, but the controversy reaching its fever pitch in the 80s had nothing to do with my book title choice." Today, however, it was discovered that the grave was defaced but in quite an unlikely fashion. This time, Plath's headstone has had slashed-off her maiden name "Plath," so the stone now reads "Sylvia Hughes." A statement posted on Twitter from @masculinistsfortedhughes (Masculinists for Ted Hughes) has claimed responsibility saying that, "We did this because as Ted Hughes' first wife, Sylvia de...

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