Publisher Description
Your Own, Sylvia draws on Plath’s writing and extensive nonfiction sources, chronicling Hemphill’s interpretation of Plath’s life from infancy to her death by suicide at age 30. The poems are arranged chronologically and each conveys an experience in Plath’s life told via the voice and perspective of family members, friends, doctors, fellow writers, etc.—as interpreted by Hemphill. Each poem is accompanied by an addendum that further explains the factual circumstances of that poem’s subject. The book also includes an Author’s Note, some photos, a section describing the source material for each poem, and suggestions for further reading.
Download and start listening now!
"Tragedy. Brilliance. Poetry. These things put together add up to Sylvia Plath. The brilliant and beautiful Sylvia Plath was torn apart by her public ambitions, private life, and personal demons. Burdened with guilt over her father's death when she is eight, she spent the rest of her life trying to prove her worth. She could never be too thin, too popular, or too accomplished. She won scholarships to Smith and Cambridge but needed constant psychiatric help. Rejecting many suitors, she marries Ted Hughes, a British poet with whom she could not form a happy marriage, leading to divorce and a tragic end. Here you can follow her life and work through in poetry told from the perspectives of the people around her -- her family members, friends, doctors, fellow writers and acquaintances."
—
Elizabeth (5 out of 5 stars)
About Stephanie Hemphill
Stephanie Hemphill is the award-winning author of Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist; Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book; Sisters of Glass; and Things Left Unsaid: A Novel in Poems. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.
About the Narrators
Fred Sanders, an actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has received critics’ praise for his audio narrations that range from nonfiction, memoir, and fiction to mystery and suspense. He been seen on Broadway in The Buddy Holly Story, in national tours for Driving Miss Daisy and Big River, and on such television shows as Seinfeld, The West Wing, Will and Grace, Numb3rs,Titus, and Malcolm in the Middle. His films include Sea of Love, The Shadow, and the Oscar-nominated short Culture. He is a native New Yorker and Yale graduate.
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.