Sylvia Plath : About the Author

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was born in Boston, Massachusetts to German parents who both taught at Boston University.  The death of her father when she was just eight was the first of many emotional shocks which would damage Plath’s emotional stability.  After high school, Plath attended Smith College on scholarship and soon won a student contest to have her work published in a national magazine. While still a student, Plath began writing for local newspapers and submitted her poems and short stories for publication.  In 1953, she won a guest editorship at Mademoiselle magazine in New York City.  Her mental health deteriorated quickly during her time in New York, an experience she wrote about under the guise of fiction in The Bell Jar. She attempted suicide with sleeping pills shortly after her return to Smith, but was readmitted to the college for the fall semester and began one of the most productive periods of her life.  After graduation she won a Fulbright scholarship to study at Cambridge University in England, where she met the British poet Ted Hughes. They were married in 1956. In 1957, Plath took a teaching job at Smith College, but she soon quit to write full-time and to restore her fragile mental health. The couple returned again to England and Plath later gave birth to a son and daughter.  The couple separated in 1962 and the following February Plath took her own life. 

Major works by Sylvia Plath

The Colossus and Other Poems (1960)
The Bell Jar (1963, novel)
Ariel (1965)

Sylvia Plath and the Web

Peter Keating Steinberg has created this web site devoted to Plath, featuring photos from landmarks in her life, a biography, and information on her works. 

This New York Times page includes reviews of her works, recordings of her reading her poems, and articles about her work.