Biographical Poetry: Your Own, Sylvia

Bibliography:

Hemphill, Stephanie. 2007. Your Own, Sylvia: a verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath. New York: Alfred A. Knoph. ISBN: 9780375937996

Review:

This book is about the life of famous poet, Sylvia Plath. It is told in free verse poetry through the voices of people who knew Sylvia, from when she was a young child until she took her own life in 1963. This book is classified as fiction. Hemphill points this out in her letter to the reader on page 247. Even so, it has a heavy grounding in fact. Hemphill’s footnotes at the end of each poem and the extensive information regarding source notes and bibliography located at the end of the novel help readers to understand that this book, although fiction is grounded in solid research.

The story starts with Sylvia’s adoration of her father, chronicles her through her manic highs and lows in college, her endless boyfriends, her marriage and eventual divorce. The poetry is beautiful and carefully constructed. Although some of the poems make readers feel happy, most of the poems are haunting. Readers will find themselves feeling multiple emotions regarding Sylvia Plath. Each of the voices that “speak” the poetry attributes these emotions. For example, in Dearest, Darling, First Born, in the voice of Aurelia Plath, Sylvia’s mother: the emotions of love and protectiveness are illustrated “When you cry/I will rock you and rhyme you,/feed you milk of my breast,/ give you my diligence, my contract of love.”

All of the poems in this verse novel create an attachment to Sylvia-even to a reader who has not been familiar with Sylvia Plath. In addition to the feelings of love, readers will find themselves wanting to talk to Sylvia about the choices she makes and to help her see that she is truly a remarkable person. I do not think that she truly saw herself. I wanted to protect her and support her to achieve more. Readers sense that the end of Sylvia’s life is always near-and yet hope and pray that reality of suicide will not rear its ugly head.

This book would be an excellent complement and introduction to a poetry curriculum or a study of Sylvia’s writings.Sylvia's poetry collection: The Collected Poems won a Pulitzer Prize. It would also be an excellent book to discuss the subject of relationships and suicide in a safe way with students.

Poem Selection:

Sylvia Begins to Tell the Truth

Sylvia looks as though she’s been hit

by a hailstorm.

Nick gurgles in his carry cot.

She speaks fast

and loud, no sun in her tone.

She can’t feed Nick, her milk

has dried up, her milk

is gone. Nick will starve. She drops

the baby in the front hall,

shakes off her outer garments, glove,

scarf, hat, overcoat

as she marches into the palor.

She weeps, “Help me.” Her eyes never

stop flowing tears.

Ted loves another woman, Assia.

Ted lies to her.

I grab her hand, don’t know what to say,

don’t know how to calm her.

She flinches at my touch. I stick my finger

in Nick’s mouth

so at least the baby soothes, becomes quiet and calm.

I tell Sylvia that she should stay the night

with us, then haul out

the guest linens, tuck Sylvia

into bed like a child.

She stares blankly, eyes swollen red,

her nose drips.

She says, “When you give someone

your whole heart

and he doesn’t want it, you cannot

take it back.

It’s gone forever.”

**Sylvia’s quote at the end of this poem if from “Sylvia in Devon: 1962,” written by Elizabeth(Compton)Signumd in Sylvia Plath: The Woman and the Work, edited by Edward Butscher.

(pg 188-189)