Heather Clark - Böcker

Sylvia Plath is one of the most influential and iconic American writers of the twentieth century, popular with academic and general audiences alike. Plath, who died at age 30, left behind a body of work that changed the direction of modern poetry, and buttressed second-wave feminism. Her poetry and fiction have been especially important to generations of women readers who have found a powerful reflection of their own emotions and experiences in Plath's art. In this incisive introduction, leading Plath scholar Heather Clark explores the intersections between Plath's life and work while discussing key themes in Plath's poetry collections The Colossus and Ariel, her novel The Bell Jar, and short stories “Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams,” “The Wishing Box,” and “Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom.” Clark summarizes the ways in which Plath has been pathologized, and reframes her work within the broader context of poetic confessionalism, biography, feminism, politics, and mental illness.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This is the first full-length study of the extraordinary period of intense poetic activity in Belfast known as the Ulster Renaissance - a time when young Northern Irish poets such as Seamus Heaney, Derek Mahon, Michael Longley, James Simmons, and Paul Muldoon began crafting their art, and tuning their voices through each other. Drawing extensively upon new archival material, as well as personal interviews and correspondence, The Ulster Renaissance argues that these poets' friendships and rivalries were crucial to their autonomous artistic development. The book also sheds new light on the idea of a collaborative Belfast coterie - often treated derisively by critics - and shows that the poets frequently engaged in efforts to promote a cohesive 'Northern' literary community, distinct from that which existed in London and Dublin. It suggests that it was this cohesion - at turns inclusive and confining - which ultimately challenged the Belfast poets to find their individual voices.

Throughout their marriage, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes engaged in a complex and continually evolving poetic dialogue about writing, love, and grief. Although scholars have commented extensively on the biographical details of Plath's and Hughes's marriage, few have undertaken a systematic intertextual analysis of the poets' work. The Grief of Influence reappraises this extraordinary literary partnership, and shows that the aesthetic and ideological similarities that provided a foundation for Plath's and Hughes's creative marriage - such as their mutual fascination with D. H. Lawrence and motifs of violence and war - intensified their artistic rivalry. Through close readings of both poets' work and analysis of new archival sources, Clark reveals for the first time how extensively Plath borrowed from Hughes and Hughes borrowed from Plath. She also explores the transatlantic dynamics of Plath's and Hughes's 'colonial' marriage within the context of the 1950s Anglo-American poetry scene and demonstrates how each poet's misreadings of the other contributed to the damaging stereotypes that now dominate the Plath-Hughes mythology. Following Plath and Hughes through alternating periods of collaboration and competition, The Grief of Influence shows how each poet forged a voice both through and against the other's, and offers a new assessment of the twentieth century's most important poetic partnership.

The first biography of this great and tragic poet that takes advantage of a wealth of new material, this is an unusually balanced, comprehensive and definitive life of Sylvia Plath.'Surely the final, the definitive, biography of Sylvia Plath' Ali Smith *WINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED PRIZE 2021**A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH AND THE TIMES**FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE IN BIOGRAPHY 2021*Drawing on a wealth of new material, Heather Clark brings to life the great and tragic poet, Sylvia Plath. Refusing to read Plath's work as if her every act was a harbinger of her fate, Clark evokes a culture in transition in the mid-twentieth century as she thoroughly explores Sylvia's world. We see Plath's early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; we witness her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes; and, through clear-eyed portraits of the demonised players in the arena of her suicide, we gain a deeper understanding of her final days.Featuring illuminating readings of Plath's poems, Red Comet brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women the world over.'A first-class biography . . . Each chapter reads with the ease of a novel . . . I couldn't put it down' The Times

An exhilarating debut novel about a life-changing romance in the long shadow of European history, inspired by the author's real discovery‘Stunningly good’ Julia Boyd‘You won’t be able to put it down’ Samantha Rose Hill‘Worthy of reading and rereading’ BookpageHarvard, 1996. Anna is about to graduate when she falls in love with Christoph, a German student visiting campus. As she visits Christoph in Germany and tries to understand the young, elegant man who fascinates her, he reveals his country to her.Germany is still reckoning with the Holocaust and its pretty new squares belie the war’s destruction. Anna wants to believe in Christoph and the future he promises her but as their relationship becomes increasingly unsettling, she must face up to everything she has been unwilling to see, and everything Christoph has chosen to ignore.'As if a Sally Rooney novel merged with Richard Linklater's film, Before Sunrise' Booklist'A swiftly-moving, molecularly perceptive, singular portrait of intoxicating young love' Aube Rey Lescure'An elegant, unsettling novel about the burden of history and the illusions of love' Sana Krasikov'A masterpiece' Rebecca Donner

With meticulous care, Judith G. Raymo presents an impressive array of Sylvia Plath’s published and personal writings. As Raymo notes in her insightful introduction, Plath’s journals, when read in tandem with her correspondence to her mother, friends, and family “provide us with an abundant record of a writer’s interior and private life and its many turning points.” Expanding on an exhibition held at the Grolier Club, this catalogue includes an essay by Plath’s award-winning biographer Heather Clark.

A debut novel about a life-changing romance in the long shadow of European history, inspired by the author's real discovery.'A singular portrait of intoxicating young love' AUBE REY LESCURE'You wouldn't be able to put it down' SAMANTHA ROSE HILLFor years after I tried to tell myself that what happened between us was hardly worth remembering. Harvard, 1996. Anna is about to graduate when she meets Christoph, a German student visiting campus. They only spend a week together – discussing art, ideas and history – but it is long enough for Anna to fall desperately in love. Anna begins to visit Christoph in Germany. As she tries to understand the young, elegant man who fascinates her, he reveals his country to her.Germany is still reckoning with the Holocaust and its pretty new squares and grand facades belie its recent history and the war’s destruction. Christoph condemns his country’s actions but remains vague about the part his own grandparents played. Anna’s grandfather, meanwhile, was an American GI who took photos of the end of the war, photos that capture its horror, preserved in a scrapbook only Anna has seen.Anna wants to believe in Christoph and the future he promises her but as their relationship becomes increasingly unsettling, she must face up to everything she has been unwilling to see, and everything Christoph has chosen to ignore.'An elegant, unsettling novel about the burden of history and the illusions of love' Sana Krasikov, author of The Patriots'Heather Clark writes with a rare empathy' Times Literary Supplement

Direct payments have been available to older people receiving community care services in the UK since February 2000. However, scepticism remains about older people's desire and ability to use direct payments and take-up so far has been low. Drawing on interviews with older people, local authority care managers and direct payments support service workers, this topical report looks at how older people use direct payments and how they make them work. It considers the role of direct payments support services and local authority care managers in making direct payments a real option for older people. The report is particularly valuable in reflecting the views and experiences of older people themselves.

Organization and Management: A Critical Text goes beyond the descriptive and managerial accounts of organizational behaviour. It offers a more critical and reflective text which contextualises and criticises conventional wisdom and attempts to re-orient the field by offering alternative approaches to the study of organizational behaviour. The authors take account of historical developments and key issues and ideas in their social, political, economic and global context. Areas examined include labour process issues, gender and other identities, flexibility and globalisation. More recent post-structuralist and post-modern approaches are also explored.