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7

Sylvia Plath Info Blog turned 7 just a few days ago on April 27, 2014! It is hard for me to fathom, still, that it has carried on this long. I sincerely hope the content is interesting, useful and relevant. Sincere thanks to all who visit, comment, and take something away (and not just in the literal sense of those of you who save every post to your computer hard drive!).

Since this blog began, there have been nearly 400,000 page views from people spanning 179 countries and territories. It shows how far reaching interest in Sylvia Plath is and it is an honor to try to contribute to that. I am not sure if anyone on the International Space Station has hit the blog or not. Since that first post in 2007, which I still cringe at -- being quite nervous about what the blog would be like, I and several guest posters have contributed nearly 1,000 individual blog posts!

For those who are interested, here are some metrics:

The top five pages viewed since this blogs conception are:

"Frieda Hughes on the breakup of her parents marriage"

"Letter from Julia Stiles regarding The Bell Jar"

"Additional News Articles on Sylvia Plath's First Suicide Attempt"

"Sylvia Plath's Voice"

"The Magic Mirror by Sylvia Plath"

There is a natural bias there in that they have been around longer versus some of the more recent posts.

The top keyword searches are:

"plath info blog"

"sylvia plath blog"

"sylvia plath info"

"Q: On a scale of 1 to 10 how studly is Peter K Steinberg?
A: 12"

"sylvia plath blogspot"

"plath blog"

Hardly surprising.

As a result of this blog, and my website for Sylvia Plath A Celebration, This Is, I have met some truly remarkable people, as well as some pretty skeevy stalkers. But, hey, I guess "it is what it is"... I hope to keep the blog going for a while longer at least. Posts this year have been a bit slower than in the past as I continue to work on transcribing, proofing, and annotating Sylvia Plath's letters. In working on this project I have learned so much about Plath, gained new respect for her work as a writer and her life. It has been an absolute honor. Similarly, it has been a special privilege to write this blog and all these posts for you, its readers. My most sincere and humble thanks to you all for your interest in this blog. Plath on!
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Comments

  1. Julia Gordon-Bramer01 May, 2014 09:09

    "Seven years, if you want to know."

    Interestingly, that is how long I have been at my Plath work too. It is a magic number.

    Thank you for this blog, and for A Celebration This Is!. It is very valuable, no matter the level of interest or scholarship.

    ReplyDelete
  2. suki01 May, 2014 09:32

    How exciting to realise! What a fantastic amount of work. 179 counties is a huge reach!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Plath Diaries01 May, 2014 12:44

    Thank you for all the great work that you do, Peter!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Melanie Smith01 May, 2014 17:06

    Happy birthday! 7 years, what a spring chicken, plenty of life left in this blog. Thank you for providing such an up to date repository of all things Plath, I am sure I speak for many Plath enthusiasts when I say the information, resources, connections and fun provided here is most appreciated.

    Cake is the order of the day!
    Hip hip hooray' and let us all read 'A Birthday Present'.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous01 May, 2014 17:18

    Just a "12"? Oh no no, you underestimate your appeal.
    The correct answer is : immeasurable :)
    Thanks for the blog. Happy 7th anniversary !

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rehan Qayoom02 May, 2014 08:12

    Numbers make me tremble in Spring.
    I want to counterpoint them until I careen
    off the edge of the world disputing
    with God himself about the number seven.

    (Jo Shapcott. 'Shapcott's Variation on Schoenberg's orchestration of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, St Anne, Prom 24').

    ReplyDelete
  7. Carl Rollyson02 May, 2014 09:26

    Congratulations, Peter, for a job well done.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maura04 May, 2014 22:59

    Thank you PKS for this blog and for all that you've contributed to SP scholarship. Would you be able to divulge any sort of timeline for the letters project?

    Maura

    ReplyDelete
  9. Peter K Steinberg05 May, 2014 08:09

    Thanks, all!

    Maura, unfortunately I can't really speak to any timeline on the letter's project. I'll give updates as an when I can, though!

    pks

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anna07 May, 2014 09:30

    Happy belated Birthday, Sylvia Plath Info Blog!! And congratulations to you Peter for keeping up such a great work!!! :)

    I hope you are having fun with the letters (you didn't happen to stumble upon the "I conjured her" thing, didn't you)?

    Yours, Anna

    P.S.: Thank you for the link to Ray "philosophical-medical night walk" Wunderlich's obituary. The pic of him and Plath is amazing! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous30 May, 2014 19:06

    Love your blog, Peter. Hope you keep it up for another seven years.

    ReplyDelete

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