“One of the most devastatingly moving and universally beloved books of poetry published in the 20th century.” — Time magazine
“It’s hard to read the original manuscript without trying to understand what Hughes was thinking when he left out certain poems and included others. She loved him. He hurt her. All of us who love her work are caught like children in that crossfire forever.” — Los Angeles Times
“Illuminating.” — New York Review of Books
“Made up of poems that are so original in their style and so startlingly accomplished in their confessional voice that they helped change the direction of contemporary poetry, Ariel is a masterpiece.” — New York Observer
“...the publication of this ‘other’ Ariel will no doubt sustain the Hughes/Plath controversy for years to come, but we can be grateful for the insights provided by this restored edition.” — Library Journal
“[Frieda] Hughes’ thoughts on her mother’s life and writing offer a calm, tender account of a life that has too often been fodder for sensationalist coverage.” — Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
“These are powerful poems, not outtakes and B sides, and if they expose Plath’s personal pain, they also enrich our sense of her state of mind at the height of her powers.” — Time magazine
“Ariel: The Restored Edition finally puts the focus back where it belongs — on Plath’s poetry.” — Village Voice
“...a poetic landmark of the decade....a coruscating book, painfully self-revelatory, brimming with a fierce, raw energy.” — The Economist
“To women who wrote, this work was galvanizing. Sylvia . . . had a fully evolved voice.” — New York Review of Books
“Frieda Hughes has had the courage to bring her mother back, not as a symbol, but as a poet. Her poems are here and will have the last word. They remain remarkable.” — New York Review of Books
“Sometimes it takes a long time for a book to reach its readers in the form the writer intended. . . . Ariel: The Restored Edition does the job, and then some.” — Seattle Times
“...one of the most important books of poetry of the 20th century...” — Slate
“It’s like a belated gift from Plath to the ‘peanut-crunching crowd’ that follows her every mood, every thought, even many years after her death.” — Buffalo News
Made up of poems that are so original in their style and so startlingly accomplished in their confessional voice that they helped change the direction of contemporary poetry, Ariel is a masterpiece.
To women who wrote, this work was galvanizing. Sylvia . . . had a fully evolved voice.
...a poetic landmark of the decade....a coruscating book, painfully self-revelatory, brimming with a fierce, raw energy.
One of the most devastatingly moving and universally beloved books of poetry published in the 20th century.
It’s hard to read the original manuscript without trying to understand what Hughes was thinking when he left out certain poems and included others. She loved him. He hurt her. All of us who love her work are caught like children in that crossfire forever.
Ariel: The Restored Edition finally puts the focus back where it belongs — on Plath’s poetry.
[Frieda] Hughes’ thoughts on her mother’s life and writing offer a calm, tender account of a life that has too often been fodder for sensationalist coverage.
It’s hard to read the original manuscript without trying to understand what Hughes was thinking when he left out certain poems and included others. She loved him. He hurt her. All of us who love her work are caught like children in that crossfire forever.
It’s like a belated gift from Plath to the ‘peanut-crunching crowd’ that follows her every mood, every thought, even many years after her death.
...one of the most important books of poetry of the 20th century...
Sometimes it takes a long time for a book to reach its readers in the form the writer intended. . . . Ariel: The Restored Edition does the job, and then some.
...one of the most important books of poetry of the 20th century...
Like her life, Sylvia Plath's last book did not end up as she intended. When the Boston-born poet killed herself in 1963, she left behind a manuscript for Ariel, her second and final book of poems. By the time the book reached print, however, Plath's intentions had been squandered. Her husband, future British poet laureate Ted Hughes transformed the book by adding 12 poems, dropping 12 others, and reshuffling the order. This edition restores Plath's version, reinstating her original poem selections and order.
Yes, we know Ariel, but not as Plath meant it; the poems were rearranged after her death, and a few were excised. Here Ariel is restored in all its glory (with a facsimile of the original manuscript as a bonus), giving us back Plath the poet before she became an icon. (LJ 11/1/04) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
