Sylvia Plath

An uncorrected proof of Sylvia Plath's iconic second book of poetry, published two years after her death—a dark and personal collection.

• Sylvia Plath (American).
• London: Faber and Faber, 1965.
• 86 pages.
• Bound in the original publisher's beige printed wrappers. 

Largely penned during a sharp uptick in productivity after her separation from Ted Hughes, crystalizing Plath's struggles with mental illness, depression and abuse. Her vivid use of imagery heightens the confessional nature of the poems, sometimes twisting into the surreal and horrific. "Ariel is not easy poetry to criticize. It is not much like any other poetry. It is her," noted the Poetry Book Society, who named it their Spring Choice of that year. A very uncommon format of one of the defining volumes of 20th century verse.