Sylvia Plath Society Newsletter V
What's New With The Society?
The Sylvia Plath Society is expanding growing and expanding our reach. Our website is beginning to be a resource for your information about Sylvia Plath, and we now have the ability for members to donate. Eventually we will charge a membership fee and these newsletters will go to members only, but only when we're confident the content we offer our members is enough.
If you tweet about Sylvia, use our hashtags #plathsociety or #plathian or reach out to us on @plath_society to start a conversation.
Don't forget the Plath Zoomposiums organised by Gail and Peter - you can RSVP on our website, but you also need to register on Zoom. Reach our and ask us how if you're having difficulties.
Plath in News
Sales of fiction books have risen by a third since lockdown began, say Nielsen Book, a data provider for the publishing industry. Libraries, too, have seen a 63% surge in ebook borrowing and 120,000 new members due to COVID-19. Sylvia Plath is among the classics people are reaching for: The Bell Jar is one of the bestsellers once again. A statement from British bookseller Waterstone's suggests it's due to its status as a "bucket list book", which don't "seem daunting any more".
Plath is also popping up on quarantine reading lists, with women's publications in particular recognising her: Vogue editor Alice Newbold chooses The Bell Jar as one of her 'favourite books of all time', whilst Stylist magazine lists her among the '107 best female authors ever'. Poet David Bergen suggests 'Nick and the Candlestick' as "perfect for our times, in that it recognizes the child to come, the future".
Iconic London pub The French House is crowdfunding due to their lost revenue in this time. Plath is among its esteemed former visitors, and the pub has been a soho stalwart since 1891. Donate to their fundraiser here.
Plath in Art
Poet Nitoo Das has said in an interview with New Indian Express that Sylvia Plath is a poet she "goes back to often" - I'm sure many of us can relate to this sentiment.
Artist Bethany Bickley makes sculptural art using the pages of books, including an arresting tableau of The Bell Jar. To see Bethany's art follow her on Instagram at @b.b.creates.
Website eturbonews.com has written a history of the Barbizon Hotel, immortalised in Plath's Bell Jar as the home of the Ladies' Day internship. Read the article here.
Author Sara Sligar rails against "the need to gloss over" the darker sides of Plath when we can "commemorate her" for her life and her work, not simply her death. Sligar's book 'Take Me Apart' is a thriller about the misconceptions of mental illness.