Welcome to our Weekend Poetry Readings, where we find a classic poem read by the poet. In doing so, by presenting the poem in the words of the poet, we hope that something new is conveyed to you, the listener.
This week, we decided to share some Sylvia Plath with you. Plath's importance in the field of literature is undisputed, and in her short life she burned brighter than most.
My favorite poet... of the Bell Jar fame
Her poetry remains the greatest legacy for it traces the lines of a broken heart. I’ve tried (and failed) to understand Ted and Sylvia’s relationship, for they were so potently creative together and yet it ended in such a tragic and destructive waste.
Yeah. Birthday Letters is so tragic. Ted Hughes… a man of many parts – perhaps what Sylvia saw was not the side the world saw. Ted, of course, was an amazing poet and the two were locked in a creative but destructive relationship. And as with relationships in general, impossible to understand, impossible equally, to explain!
Indeed poems like Iris and Dream Life seemed to a poignant reminder that death had little reconciliation. His losing Sylvia’s love, or that of her losing her fathers, came with unending guilt, remorse and helplessness. Did he ever find peace? I’m not sure…
A plaque for Ted was laid last year outside westminster abbey. Was it overly sentimental of me to have wanted a plaque for them both, together at last?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
The artist is never at peace. It is nature’s most cruel paradox that art is born from souls of the highest order… their torture and anguish. That is what I believe and it saddens me often… they are like imploding stars… give all of themselves in a shower of brilliance, and then fade away from view.
Who knows, they (Ted and Sylvia) were together at last after death. What do we know of worlds beyond this one we inhabit? My favorite analogy is: just because I cannot see Paris from Delhi, doesn’t mean Paris does not exist… just because we don;t experience other worlds in this one life, on this one earth, doesn’t mean other worlds do not exist.