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Showing posts from September, 2019

Corrections to The Letters of Sylvia Plath

Below is a list of the corrections that were made for the paperback editions of The Letters of Sylvia Plath . A few tweaks were made to the front matter and the Acknowledgements and they were made the same in both editions. But I have not listed them here. My thanks to those readers who sent in corrections. Volume I: p. 106, Footnote 2 – Revise to: Mary Ventura (1932-1973), high school classmate of SP. p. 202, Footnote 1 – Revise to: According to Plath's housemate Olive Milne Glaser, Marie was the head cook at Haven House. See SP's 'Marie'; held by Lilly Library. p. 279, line 21: add footnote at: dodie Priscilla Dole Peters (1930- ), B.A. 1952, Government, Smith College, SP's housemate at Haven House. p. 327, line 24: add footnote at Rosie Rosemary Jaicks Flinn (1929- ) B.A. 1951, American Studies, Smith College, SP's housemate at Haven House. p. 409, Footnote 2 – Revise to: Ezra Pound, The Pisan Cantos (New York: New Directions, 1948). SP's

Paperback editions of The Letters of Sylvia Plath Published Today

Today, Faber issues in the United Kingdom the first paperback edition of both volumes of The Letters of Sylvia Plath . They each carry forward the original cover photographs but do not judge these books by their covers. We had the opportunity to make corrections and updates to some of the text and to footnotes based both on reader inquires as well as our own review of the hardbacks. Naturally we apologize that transcription errors that were not caught. Additionally, we have added an Appendix to each book with new letters. Here is a breakdown of them. Volume I: 7 Letters To June Johnson Helle, circa 21 March 1943 To June Johnson Helle, 14 June 1950 To Katherine Benion, 3 March 1951 To Perry Norton, 11 October 1952 To Perry Norton, 5 December 1952 To Shirley Baldwin Waring and Perry Norton, 8 June 1953 To Rosamund Pugh Swaim, circa 11 January 1956 Volume II: 2 Letters To Smith Vocational Office, circa 26 August 1957 To Smith Vocational Office, circa 8 September 1958 Par

Sylvia Plath Collections: Philip Hobsbaum papers

Gail Crowther and I recently teamed up for a These Ghostly Archives -inspired archival research trip and thought we would share it with you. PKS: The University of Glasgow has some Sylvia Plath archival material. In October 2018, a blog post entitled Philip Hobsbaum (1932-2005): Ghosts in the archive – Sylvia Plath was published about the Philip Hobsbaum papers that are in the process of being catalogued. GC: Philip Hobsbaum (1932 - 2005) was a teacher, poet, and critic, and a contemporary of Ted Hughes’ at Cambridge where they were both interested in the oral power of poetry. It was here that Hobsbaum worked as the editor of delta , a small poetry magazine published by the University of Cambridge throughout the 1950s and 60s. After moving to London in 1955, Hobsbaum was instrumental in setting up The Group which was a regular meeting for poets and writers to share ideas and work. In the 1950s and 60s much of literary London would attend The Group, including Ted Hughes, David

Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar (Faber Liberty Edition) & Ariel (Faber 90th Anniversary Edition)

Faber & Faber in London is set to publish today a "Liberty edition" of Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar . Priced at £14.99. I was recently told that the cover incorporates period fabric chosen from the Liberty Fabric archives . Fantastic! Who can forget Plath's own reaction to Liberty's from her recently published Letters ? For example she wrote to her mother a few weeks after settling in at 3 Chalcot Square: "Eye-shopped at Liberty’s the other day: oh, the teak furniture & copper, glass & steelware! So pacifying to see & feel beautiful things" (430). Plath also purchased greeting cards from Liberty's as well as a scarf that she gave to her mother (now held by the Lilly Library). For an image of the scarf I refer you to David Trinidad's "Collecting Sylvia Plath" published on the Poetry Foundation website). When I first saw the new cover for The Bell Jar  I thought immediately of the 1971 limited edition Cryst

Sylvia Plath Books: Autumn 2019

This fall a number of books by and about Sylvia Plath will be published. First up, the books by Plath. On 5 September, a gorgeous hardback "Liberty" edition of The Bell Jar  will be issued. ( Amazon.co.uk ). The same day, Faber will issue a 90th anniversary edition of Ariel ( Amazon.co.uk ). (This year, 2019, is the 90th anniversary of the firm.) Two weeks later, on the 19th, both volumes of  The Letters of Sylvia Plath will be issued for the first time in paperback. Blessedly the same covers as for the hardback. Now. Your attention please. HarperCollins is not releasing paperback editions of  The Letters of Sylvia Plath . So if you want the new content, which will be the subject of a separate blog post on or about the 19th, then you will have to get the Faber edition. Book Depository ships internationally for free. If you are interested in books about  Sylvia Plath this fall is for you as there are two important books coming out. Cambridge Uni