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Unveiling the Face of Sylvia Plath

Press Release

Celebration of Ariel and New Plath Portrait at Smith

NORTHAMPTON, Mass.—The Poetry Center and the Mortimer Rare Book Room at Smith College are pleased to announce the unveiling of a stunning new portrait of Sylvia Plath ’55 by Susan Seidner Adler ’57. The celebration of the acquisition of the painting and the 50th anniversary of the creation of Plath’s Ariel poems will take place on November 29 at 7:00 pm in the Poetry Center.

The large oil-on-canvas painting depicting a college-age Sylvia Plath with a draft of her iconic Ariel poem “Stings” in the background was recently commissioned by Esther C. Laventhol ’57, a housemate of Sylvia Plath at Lawrence House during her junior and senior years at Smith. The evening’s festivities will include a Q&A with the artist and donor of the painting, followed by readings of favorite Plath poems by students, faculty, and curators.

Light refreshments will be served following the reading. Sponsored by the Poetry Center and the Mortimer Rare Book Room, the event is free and open to the public. For more information please contact Jennifer Blackburn in the Poetry Center (jblackbu@smith.edu; telephone 413-585-4891) or Karen Kukil, curator of the Sylvia Plath Collection in the Mortimer Rare Book Room (kkukil@smith.edu; telephone 413-585-2908).

For disability access information or to request accommodations, call (413) 585-2407. To request a sign language interpreter specifically, call (413) 585-2071 (voice or TTY) or e-mail ODS@smith.edu. All requests must be made at least 10 days prior to the event.

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