Fifty years ago today, Sylvia Plath's The Colossus was published by Alfred A. Knopf in the United States. A small notice of the publication appeared in that day's New York Times , on page 26. On 1 May 1961, a year before publication, Plath headed her letter to her mother, published in Letters Home : "GOOD NEWS GOOD NEWS GOOD NEWS!" (417). Plath admitted, "After all the fiddlings and discouragements from the little publishers, it is an immense joy to have what I consider THE publisher accept my book for America with such enthusiasm. They 'sincerely doubt a better first volume will be published this year.'" (417-418). At the end of the letter Plath tells her mother that "I have been writing seven mornings a week at the Merwins' study and have done better things than ever before, so it is obvious this American acceptance is a great tonic" (418). The poems Plath wrote at this time were "In Plaster," "Tulips," ...

Sylvia Plath's editor at Knopf was Judith Jones. Jones was an ardent and early supporter of Plath's poetry and fiction up to, and likely through, the publication of Ariel . Knopf lost the battle for Ariel to rival publishing house Harper & Row. Ms. Jones recently published The tenth muse: My life in food . She will appear at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. on Tuesday 13 November. Tickets are on sale via the Harvard Book Store . Tickets are $5. The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin holds the correspondence between Jones, Plath, Hughes and others at Heinemann and Knopf. I posted on this collection back in July. The correspondence, negotiations, etc. makes for very interesting reading and is certainly worth of further study and publicity. For more information, please click here .

The impressive Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (HRHRC) at the University of Texas at Austin holds the Alfred A. Knopf Inc Records, 1873-1996. (You may remember from an earlier posting that the HRHRC also holds Anne Sexton's papers.) Knopf published The Colossus and other poems in 1962, so when it came time for Plath to try to get The Bell Jar published in the United States, she sent the manuscript along to Knopf. Knopf rejected it, unfortunately. In "Series I. General / Historical Correspondence, 1922-71, bulk 1946-66", they hold in box 362, folder 2, correspondence with Plath from 1961-1962, approximately the time period for both the publication of The Colossus , as well as her attempt to secure them as publisher for her novel. The collection does hold their rejection letter to Plath. In "Series VII. Other Department Files, 1916-96, bulk 1943-68 , A. Publicity Department, 1916-96, bulk 1943-96, 1. Publicity Files, 1916-67, bulk 1943-58", they hold in ...