The first season of the podcast is dedicated to Sylvia Plath. Many facts are presented in Russian for the first time. In the first episode we will talk about her childhood.
She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and one of the creators of the genre of "confessional poetry". In 1963, when she was just 30 years old, she got down on her knees and put her head in an oven. Sylvia did that on 11 February, 61 years ago. It's Plath's Memorial Day and the release of the podcast is timed to coincide with it.
You'll learn why Sylvia considered her father's death a suicide, and how the event affected her and her work. How did Plath combine a typical smiling 1950s American girl with a love of fashion and frequent thoughts of death? Why did Sylvia once make the whole class go out to watch the sunrise? Why did she forbid her mother to marry? How did she reject boys at school? I will also talk about Plath's interesting hobby of raising bees.
Many of the facts voiced here I have not come across in Russian-language materials. While preparing the podcast, I studied many sources in English, read Plath's diaries and letters (they are still not translated into Russian), even found her mother Aurelia's graduation paper. I list the sources at the end of the video, but you are welcome to contact me if you are interested in a particular aspect of Sylvia's life. I will be happy to share information and talk about her.
Thanks to Arina for the cover and support, Ilya for the microphone and fixing the cabinet, and Lena for helping me promote.
I can be contacted by email: anna.pod.poezdom@gmail.ru
On Telegram: t.me/dvunogoe_bessilie
Content:
00:00 | Introduction. A short biography of Sylvia Plath
02:15 | About Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar
05:26 | Sylvia Plath in Russia
06:14 | "The Sylvia Plath Effect".
07:42 Sylvia Plath and Joseph Brodsky.
10:11 | Stop 1. Sylvia Plath's childhood
13:52 | Sylvia's father Otto Plath and bees.
16:36 Sylvia's mother Aurelia Plath.
18:28 The illness and death of dad.
22:22 Sylvia Plath's poem "Daddy".
24:01 | Sylvia Plath's first poem.
25:26 | Paper dolls, drawings by Sylvia Plath.
27:09 | Poem "Tulips" by Sylvia Plath
27:46 | Difficult relationship with her mother.
29:21 The Women's Club from Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom.
31:21 | How Sylvia Plath "blew off" suitors.
32:01 | Conclusion. The first attempt to "walk into the void."
32:51 | Podcast creators and sources: books, websites, materials about Sylvia Plath