Sylvia Plath | Autograph letter signed, to Edith & William Hughes, on meeting a groundhog, 1 July 1958

Sylvia Plath

Autograph letter signed, to Edith and William Hughes

describing the "heat of sultry summer", their recent writing successes including the acceptance of two of her poems by The New Yorker and Hughes's latest poems ("...a fine one about a great black bull..."), and describing an encounter in a groundhog on the slopes of Mount Holyoke, 1 page, folio (275 x 214mm), blue airmail stationery, autograph envelope, [337 Elm Street, Northampton, MA,] 1 July [1958], small stain not affecting text

"...Yesterday we climbed Mount Holyoke again - that high tree-covered mountain overlooking the broad silvery Connecticut river & on the way up saw a strange little animal we'd glimpsed in the road while driving a few days ago. It was greyish-brown furred, with a short fat body, stumpy legs & tail & a sweet gentle mousish face. We got this one cornered for a good look - it just clattered its sharp yellow teeth in a scared way, & decided it was a groundhog (alias wood chuck). I wanted to pet it, but Ted said it would bite my arm off. So we let it lie..."

TWO POETS AND A GROUNDHOG. The acceptance of 'Mussel Hunter at Rock Harbor' and 'Nocturne' by The New Yorker was an important moment for Plath, who considered it the most prestigious and influential of all periodicals: her letters to Hughes in October 1956 had been full of careful analysis of the latest issue of The New Yorker. The Hawk in the Rain had been a highly successful first collection, with over 3000 copies sold. Nevertheless, it was by no means clear that they would be able to support themselves with writing alone. Furthermore, despite her typically sprightly letter to her in-laws, Plath was still in the throes of depression. On 20 June she had written in her journal: "I am now flooded with despair, almost hysteria, as if I were smothering. As if a great muscular owl were sitting on my chest, its talons clenching & constricting my heart."

LITERATURE

The Letters of Sylvia Plath: Volume 2, pp.256-57