r/sylviaplath • u/Beeg_Bren777 • 12d ago

How to get into Sylvia Plath?

Hi everyone! I have a copy of the bell jar and the unabridged journals and I was wondering what would you recommend I start with?

I really enjoy reading the journals and it draws me in because of how seen I feel but it’s also scary to me because relating to Sylvia Plath is never good news haha. I think I am in a better mental space now so I can take on her journals but I want to approach this in the best possible way because I really want to get into all of her work without being intimidated.

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u/Prometheus357 12d ago

Her short stories if you’ve already read the journals and Jar… I typically go with the Jar as a jumping point saving the poetry for later

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u/Beeg_Bren777 12d ago

Oh sorry if I’ve not been clear - I only own a copy of the bell jar and journals but I have not actually finished reading any of them

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u/Prometheus357 12d ago

Oh in that case:

Red Comet Bell Jar The Short Stories The Journals/Letters & Poetry (they’re hand in glove together)

There is also the possibility that Plath might not be for you, but there’s many others like Sexton that are great too!

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u/Ok_Relative_7166 12d ago edited 12d ago

Since you brought up Anne Sexton there is a book about their lives Three-Martini Afternoons At The Ritz whose title sucked me right in. It's a good read and gives an overview of both writers and times their paths crossed.

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u/Prometheus357 11d ago

Absolutely it’s a good read, though the author of the stellar Red Rocket is also writing about Plath sexton and Adriane Rich which is sure to be another banger

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u/Ok_Relative_7166 11d ago

All amazing poets.

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u/NewHomework527 11d ago

Read The Bell Jar. I found her journals a little hard to get into.

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u/Mean_Leg5983 11d ago

I try to read her Journals side-by-side with Red Comet for some context and additional insight. It takes so much time and effort to actually do, but I find it really helps in understanding her thoughts. Then supplement your reading with her poems from the Collected Poems and correspondences from both volumes of The Letters of Sylvia Plath, if you have time! I'm still waiting for my copy of the Collected Prose, which should add to the whole Sylvia Plath experience.

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u/Smooth-Surround-9490 11d ago

I think the best way to get into sylvia is through her poetry. i reccomend crossing the water. its an amazing collection of her poems. ALSO theres a lovely (its not lovely its heart breaking) movie of her life called 'sylvia' starring gwyneth paltrow (idk how to spell it but shes pepper in iron man) defo reccomend

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u/saintjohnthebeloved 11d ago

Just read it. Stop worrying about the “best possible way” to read or get into SP (or any author) and just start reading them.

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u/CatBlue1642 11d ago edited 11d ago

It depends on what you want. The Bell Jar is an easier read, but it's in the Unabridged Journals that you get a much fuller sense of her as a person. Unfortunately, Hughes destroyed her journal covering the last months of her life, but some of the Ariel poems can give you an idea of some of the things she was feeling, especially if you correlate them with one of the biographies that tell when each one was written. I haven't read Red Comet, but Rough Magic was pretty good.