Hi Mairead,
>The Bell Jar, published
very shortly before her death, received favorable reviews,<
Maybe so, but to my mind it suffers in the same way the poetry
often does -- from what I remember (having read it maybe 10
years ago) the first half of the book was superb, but rapidly
descended into that kind of psychotic navel-gazing. Am I
right in thinking that this is also the common critical view on this
book? Starts well but loses the plot?
>restraining sexism of The Colossus reviews<
No arguments there -- they were indeed incredibly patronising.
I'm trying to imagine a reviewer putting down Dylan Thomas's
first volume as being 'too gushy' . . . .
>"Three Caryatids..." <
Can't find any reference to this mysterious poem myself either . . . .
it does look highly unlikely.
>Her poems about pregnancy and childbirth <
Yes -- 'Three Women' especially. Although I'm not so sure about
the 'acceptability' of writing about death and the unacceptability
of writing about birth . . . I prefer this poem over many others
because it avoids that 'As much death as you can eat in one go'
approach which she advertised with such relish. Her nature poems
I prefer to Hughes' as well . . . .
Just can't help feeling that she's renowned for the wrong reasons . . . .
It occurred to me last night that, like other poems which have
become famous despite their awfulness (Wordsworth's
'I wandered lonely', Tennyson's 'Charge of the Light Brigade'),
'Daddy' may end up in the same bracket. Not sure . . . .
Anyway, guess it is time to wind this down . . . before a discussion
about her Collected Journals flares up :-)
Andy
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