At Equator Books, a Venice bookstore that offers old editions and out-of-print books, vinyl albums and photography exhibitions (above, a dog shot by Martin Cohen), I was stunned and delighted to find a first American edition of Sylvia Plath's only novel, The Bell Jar. How could I resist?Plath indeed is an author I adore. I think she is generally very much underestimated as a poet because she was so beautiful, because her life was so very dramatic, ending in a suicide in the dark cold of a London winter, and because of the cult teen following that attached to her after she died. All this, I suspect, made academics weary of her work, yet it is truly exceptional.
This edition of The Bell Jar reveals yet another aspect of her extraordinary talent - in the field of art, as the book features Plath's very own illustrations. Sylvia, endlessly gifted.
I love her.
Speaking of illustration...History fans, art fans, illustration fans, Maira Kalman fans, do not miss, and I mean do not miss Kalman's superb, quirky and funny In Love With A. Lincoln, a tribute to the great president, in The New York Times!And speaking of books, check out this fabulous round couch with surrounding bookshelves designed by Irina Zhdanova. I want it!!
Emily Dickinson
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24 comments:
I am very glad you could get that copy: you love the writer you love the book.
I'm so very jealous! Congrats on getting that copy, The Bell Jar has been my all-time favorite book ever since I read it :)
The bell jar is one of my favorite books. I had no idea Sylvia Plath also drew - it just makes her even more amazing.
AGNES DEER - Anna Karenina, now The Bell Jar... It seems we really have tastes in common when it comes to novels!
Equator books looks wonderful, am off to check out the link, thank you : )
I love The Bell jar it is one of my favorite books.
I love the Bell Jar<3
JESSICA and HONEYY BUNNY - yay, more lovers of The Bell Jar!
clap clap clap on such a great find!!!
i have read peoms by sylvia plath but i have never read "the bell jar"...although i have wanted to for years! now i think i really must make an effort!
and thank you marie-laure...i feel like you feel that books are friends, like i do...;)
xxnancy
So...you totally got me addicted to Blossom Dearie's beautiful music. I listen to her on pandora all the time!
:)
-Lu
I love Sylvia Plath. How lucky that you found a first edition.
Hey Marie Laure, I tagged you before I realized you'd been tagged about a year ago. I'd never been tagged before so I panicked.
Come over to my site and see what it's all about. Decline/Accept
So glad that you got that copy. I love your blog especially the flower pictures. Made me smile on this gloomy monday morning.
Come on over and visit my blog. :)Clare
Looks like an amazing book to get your hands on!
i love maira kalman's tribute to lincoln (i love everything she does). thanks for posting the link!
NANCY - oh you MUST read The Bell Jar, it's really worth reading.
LU LU - I can't tell you how happy I am that you're enjoying Blossom Dearie's wonderful music. You know, she plays the piano on all her songs.
CLEVER PUP - I'll look it up, thanks!
i love her too. congrats on getting that great gift. everytime I visit you, I remind myself I need to read more (besides tarea).
Oh, what a beautiful gift. you found yourself! Beautiful!
Sylvia Plath, is a favorite.
Bliss!
SEALAURA - I love it how you intersperse words in Spanish in your English - that's exactly the way I speak, too...
thank you for this. and happy birthday to all.
you know i just bought a copy of the bell jar yesterday!! (not a first addition though)
i borrowed it from the library over the summer, and i love her writing. reminds me of salinger a little. her poems are exceptional too. i think ill have to get a copy of some of her poems too.
What a treasure to find. I remember reading it for the first time when I was about 14 and feeling the pieces of my world shift around.
I'm still endlessly fascinated by her and the myths and projections around her, the substance and shadows. And the Ariel poems knock me flat out.
Its really wonderful all her blog . I put in my rollblog last week.
I think her poem "Daddy" is sheer genius.
I recently learned that Sylvia's son took his own life, too. Tragic.
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