Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath

In Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, NEH Public Scholar Heather Clark brings Plath to life with never-before-accessed materials. Clark rejects the idea that every act of Plath’s was a harbinger of her tragic fate, and instead considers the sociopolitical context of the world in which Plath lived. Red Comet explores Plath’s early relationships, her determination not to become a conventional woman and wife, her troubles with an unenlightened mental health industry, her years spent at Cambridge, and her meeting with Ted Hughes. Clark’s compassionate research promotes a deeper understanding of Plath’s final days and brings us closer to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women poets the world over.  

Red Comet was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and commended by the New York Times for shifting the focus from Plath’s tragic death to her brilliant life.