October 27th, 1932 - February 11th 1963

"Dying is an art like everything else, I do it exceptionally well."

By the age of five Sylvia Plath was already writing full poems. At the age of eight she had one of her poems published in the Boston Herald. As a teen she was already a seasoned , and veteran writer. Sylvia's short stories were being published by teen magazines of the day, and she won through a magazine fiction contest two Smith poetry prizes. At this time Sylvia attended Smith College on a scholarship.

While still a student Sylvia obtained the position of guest editor for Mademoiselle magazine. While she is described as a sensitive, intelligent person, it should also be noted that she was in turmoil, and during this period made her first suicide attempt.

Sylvia underwent both psychotherapy, and electric shock treatments.

Graduating from Smith College in 1955 she continued with her pursuit of academic excellence at Newnham College, Cambridge England on a Fulbright fellowship.

Sylvia married fellow poet Ted Hughes in 1956. She was committed to making her marriage to Ted work, but he was moody, and adulterous, and eventually in 1962 he abandoned her, and their two young children.

Throughout this emotional turmoil Sylvia kept writing, her talents being amply displayed in her book of poetry The Colossus, and her semi autobiographical book, The Bell Jar.

It was very cold in London, England during the winter of 1963 where Sylvia, and her two children lived in a tiny, dark flat. While the little family were sick with the flu, Ted meanwhile was playing around with a young lady in Spain.

One night in February Sylvia left some food, and milk for her children in their darkened bedroom while they slept. She opened their window, and sealed off their bedroom door with towels, and tape.

In the kitchen, Sylvia took some sleeping pills, and proceeded to sit on the floor with her head by the oven door. The gas turned on full.

In the morning she was found by her nurse, at her side a suicide note that read, "Please call Dr. Horder." At the age of 30, Sylvia Plath had passed on.....

After her death a collection of Sylvia's poetry was published, Winter Trees, Ariel, and Crossing The Water astounded the literary world. And it is for these that she is truly honoured, and remembered.

At the time of her death Sylvia's divorce had not been finalised, and the rights to all her works went to Ted. In 1981 he published The Collected Poems, and Sylvia received a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.

Sylvia is buried in the new cemetery adjoining the Church of St. Thomas Becket in Heptonstall, a small hilltop village above the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, England.

For Andy.

See also:

Italian Poet Gabriele D'Annunzio

Thomas Chatterton