No surface in Waterstone’s was left unsat on last night! Thank-you to everyone who came along to a crammed Poetry Room.
We were looking at Sylvia Plath’s Ariel: a delightful and daunting task. Many people commented on how they were looking forward to reading the poems as a group, and sharing feedback. Some were new to her poems and felt a certain amount of trepidation. Others were fans, one person disliked her work but was interested to hear other’s people’s comments.
We started by looking at ‘Morning Song’. Opinion divided on whether it was a positive or negative depiction of motherhood and it was generally decided it could be both. The chubbiness of the opening watch imagery was admired and it was noted how the line set an inevitable and momentous journey into motion. The wit of the poem was also appreciated.
Next we listened to a recording of Plath reading her poem ‘Lady Lazarus’. The version differed from the printed poem and fascinatingly included lines which were later edited such as ‘I am Japanese’. It was felt that Plath’s unflinching journeying into the recesses of her speaker’s mind places a reader in a vulnerable position, and we discussed how comfortable, or otherwise, the poem made us feel. It was acknowledged that the speaker of the poem was separate from Plath, though the poet relentlessly used her own life in her work. The use of the holocaust was discussed, both how it pertained to Plath’s life, and also a more public psyche. daybreakers film
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Our penultimate poem was ‘The Arrival of the Bee Box’. Again the wit of this piece was enjoyed. One person suggested that poem might be about being a poet, but we decided maybe (hopefully!) it was just about being Plath. In a bid to send ourselves off on an upbeat note, there was a quick discussion of ‘You’re’. The wonderful sounds of this poem were discussed as were the sublime metaphors for the unborn child throughout including ‘my little loaf’.
Finally we discussed how important the group was in enabling people to read the poems. Many people felt that the communal nature of the activity helped with Ariel in particular, acting as both support and safety net.
Many thanks again to everyone for an illuminating evening. On Tuesday 24 March at 6.30pm Linda will be leading a discussion on Pascale Petit’s The Zoo Father – a collection which has parallels with Ariel. See you there. And happy reading!
