Sylvia Plath
Birth and death
Sylvia was born on October 27th, 1932
She was born is Boston, Massachusetts
Plath killed herself in 1963, after a long depressive episode
She was 30, and died by sticking her head into a gas oven, succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning while her children Nicholas and Frieda slept.February 11, 1963
She had sealed the rooms between her and her children with tape, towels and cloth to ensure their safety.
Early life
At the age of 9, Sylvia published her first poem called "Poem" in the Boston Herald, in 1941
At the age of 12, her IQ was measured at 160, which is well above what is considered to be a genius (anything above 140)
In 1944, she had more work published in her local newspaper and on average was writing a poem a day at school.
During her teens, she was an avid pacifist against the korean war and called the atomic bomb a "sin"
She continued to work on a farm, doing manual labour which is later echoed in her poem "bitter strawberries"
Later life
In 1982, she became the first person to win a Posthumous Pulitzer prize
She was a gifted poet, although troubled, and was known for her confessional style of poetry and other works
She won a scholarship to the Smith College in 1950.
Sylvia spent time in New York City during the summer of 1953 to work with the mademoiselle magazine
Soon after, she attempted suicide by sleeping pills, but survived an recovered in a mental health facility
She finished her degree in 1955 and graduated
Won a fulbright scholarship to Cambridge and went to the Newnham college.
Ted Hughes
Sylvia met Ted Hughes in Cambridge university and the two got married in 1956
Had her first collection of poetry - "The Colossus" - published in England in 1960
Welcomed their first child Frieda and two years later, Nicolas
Hughes left Plath for Assia Wevill in 1962
In 1963 she wrote "The Bell Jar" which was her only novel, which was based on her life and her struggles with mental breakdowns.
She also wrote the poems that would make the collection "Ariel", which was published after her death
Hughes and Plath had a very unhealthy and toxic relationship.
He became her literary executor after her death.