Weekly Project: Reading Out Loud: Sylvia Plath

I was a bit behind with last week’s Reading Out Loud Project, so I wanted to get this week’s out in front of you a little more quickly. This time John has chosen a favorite poem by Sylvia Plath. Now, I confess I am not always the best with her work. I don’t always “get” her, but usually when I don’t, I still enjoy the lines and want to. Usually. This one doesn’t leave me feeling shut out, like some of hers have and knowing that a lot of my readers and friends have a real affinity for Plath I am hoping that some of you will enjoy the experience of jumping in and recording this one to share with us. I’ve read through this a few times, and will try to get my recording up before the weekend is over. Several of you though, I bet could jump right in, so please do.

On a side note, a few people have expressed interest in recording some of the poems from previous weeks, particularly Last Week’s William Stafford piece. I suspect that John’s view of this would be, “Wonderful!” Better late than never. And as I say about myself, better a little behind than a big one!

Hey, most importantly, have fun. This is poetry play time. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Okay? Just read the low-down and simple instructions in John’s post and have at it!

An evening with Sylvia Plath, review (telegraph.co.uk)
Hear Sylvia Plath Read Fifteen Poems From Her Final Collection, Ariel, in 1962 Recording (openculture.com)

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David J. Bauman

July 6, 2013

6 responses to “Weekly Project: Reading Out Loud: Sylvia Plath”

John

July 6, 2013 at 3:37 pm

I’m with you on Plath … she is often a bit too obscure for me. Yet, at the same time, I keep coming back to her. My edition of “The Collected Poems” is the first book of poetry I ever bought, after having read “Daddy” in some college text — so, that makes my copy 20+ years old. I find that state-of-mind plays into my appreciation for her. I have to be in a certain place, mentally, and, I have to be quietly reading, no distractions, no “I should be doing this or that other thing”… when I’m relaxed, and fully open to her words, the poems suddenly open up.

I’ve read them all, several times, over the course of 20-some years, and, some of them still seem impenetrable — but, maybe, given another 20-years… 🙂

I’m looking forward to you reading — I already know it will be awesome.

And…. for anyone else who wants to read any of the past week’s poems: feel free. David’s right — I would say “Better late than never!” This is purely for fun, for sharing, for meeting new blogger friends …. this is Let’s Have Fun, not the serious, stuffy halls of academia. So…. record away!

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1. David J. Bauman
  
  July 7, 2013 at 12:13 am
  
  My friend Ygor has a recording of this. I know it wouldn’t fit the game of recording it this week, but it might be fun to link to it none the less for the sake of variety. I’ll go digging!
  
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keatsbabe

July 8, 2013 at 6:18 am

I try very hard to appreciate Plath, which is probably part of my problem – I should just let her ‘sink’ into my consciousness. But she can be, dare I say it, hard work. I find her individual phrases more wonderful than whole poems…

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1. David J. Bauman
  
  July 8, 2013 at 9:06 am
  
  I very much relate to this comment. The sad thing is we have a lot of plath imitators these days who seem to think they are really something, but they lack the beauty of those phrases you mention, qnd often, to me, seem just to enjoy being difficult.
  
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Brian Fanelli

July 18, 2013 at 2:56 pm

I recently re-read Plath after going through the collected letters of Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Bishop heaped a lot of praise upon Plath, especially after her suicide. I do like some of Plath’s work a lot, especially what she was able to do with extended metaphor and her juxtaposed images.

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1. David J. Bauman
  
  August 3, 2013 at 4:10 pm
  
  Yes, I had a similar reaction. When I learned that Bishop, whom I adore, spoke highly of Plath, it made me take a second look.
  
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