ARIEL: THE RESTORED EDITION by SYLVIA PLATH

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Reading by Eileen Tabios

Ariel: The Restored Edition by Sylvia Plath 

(Faber & Faber, 2007)


The in-progress aspect of art/poetry interests me (my first prose book was BLACK LIGHTNING which was about the drafting of individual poems by 15 poets). So I knew I had to bring into my new library Ariel: The Restored Edition which presents a facsimile of Sylvia Plath's manuscript, pleasantly complete with her handwritten editing/drafting marks, and "reinstating her original selection and arrangement." This also was an opportunity to be reminded of her magnificent poem "Morning Song" (see below) which I hadn't read in full in years, being exposed more recently to its delightful and also meme-ish first line "Love set you going like a fat gold watch." But anyway as regards this project's in-progress aspect, twas a bit of a shiver to see the editing of the title--how it moved from THE RIVAL to A BIRTHDAY PRESENT to DADDY and then the final ARIEL. Chilling--the all of it being one of the best articulations of ice on fire.








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