Sylvia Plath didn't just leave a (small) body of writing that continues to delight and inspire the world over. Oh no, it has just been revealed that the poet's illustrations were really rather good too. A new book,
Sylvia Plath: Drawings
reveals never-seen illustrations from Plath's private collection. Her daughter, Frieda Hughes, and late son, Nicholas Hughes, have been the custodians of these drawings since their father Ted Hughes's death in 1998.
The illustrations were created in 1956, the first year of Plath's marriage, and in The Times' article about the book, Frieda Hughes says of her mother's artwork, "As much as poetry dominated her purpose, however, art was always an important element of my mother’s life." Adding that her father commemorated her love of art in a poem "Your Paris," in his final collection of poems, Birthday Letters. It really is gratifying to realise that there is even more to discover about a writer of Plath's stature. Sylvia Plath: Drawings is available next Thursday September 5 — at which point, it will go straight to the top of our Amazon wish list. What about you? (The Times)
Photo: Via The Times.
