Ariel Plath, Sylvia Poetry

Second printing of the UK edition of Sylvia Plath's iconic second book of poetry - issued by her US publisher Harper & Row in advance of the US edition, with Harper's "Uncorrected Proof" slip tipped to front free endpaper. ARIEL - largely penned during a sharp uptick in productivity after her separation from Ted Hughes - crystalizes Plath's struggles with mental illness, depression, and abuse. Her vivid use of imagery heightens the confessional nature of the poems, sometimes twisting into the surreal and horrific. "ARIEL is not easy poetry to criticize. It is not much like any other poetry. It is her," noted the POETRY BOOK SOCIETY, who named it their Spring Choice of that year. A very uncommon issue of one of the defining volumes of 20th century verse. 8.5'' x 5.25''. Original red cloth boards. Original unclipped (12s 6d) yellow, blue, and red typographic dust jacket. 86 pages. Spine toned, as common. Minor shelfwear to extremities. Else clean and sound.