Wednesday, November 10, 2021

HEY! WHATCHA DOIN'?

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

My title comes from two recollections I had today. One is of a young woman I knew many years ago when I was an even younger woman. She was from Boston and told me how she hated it when Midwesterners replaced hi with hey.* I did not mention how it grated on my nerves when she said youse guys. The second is of a little girl who used to spend a lot of time with her grandparents next door.* When she spotted me she always called out, Hi! How are ya? 

So now I give you a hey and express a desire to know how you are and what's going on with you. What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you working on around the house? What are you chastising yourself about because you haven't worked on it? What have you done that's fun or relaxing or enjoyable? Fill me in.

To celebrate my job offer, I ordered a hardcover copy of Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark. I did not realize I was getting a 1,000 page book, so for the next year when you ask what I'm reading, I'll probably answer Red Comet.


Plath is one of my two favorite poets. The other is Emily Dickinson. At page 140 in Red Comet, I'm thrilled by Clark's analysis of Plath's work, how it relates to her life, and how it changed as her skills and viewpoints developed. Clark uses a lot of quotations from letters and Plath's journals. I never noticed before that for all of Sylvia Plath's intelligence and fine education, she did not spell well, so (sic) turns up frequently. 

In her Prologue, I was thrilled to read Clark's goal: I hope to free Plath from the cultural baggage of the past fifty years and reposition her as one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century. . . . She ought to be remembered for her transcendent, trailblazing poems, not for gassing herself in her kitchen.

Loving Plath's poetry should not relegate one to a misogynistic concept of a suicide-loving cult. I find the relationship between Plath's life and her poetry of particular relevance because of the confessional aspect of her work, but she should not be read as merely confessional. There is so much more to her writing, and Plath herself said that she did not approve of what she called unformed cries from the heart.

I'm also fascinated by Plath's life because I see her as an emblem of the 1950's young woman who has been shaped by views of what a woman's life should be, yet she wants more. Plath wanted to marry and have children and be a wonderful cook and keep a lovely home, and she wanted to be an artist; and it is very hard to be a wife and a mother and a housekeeper and a cook and a laundress and find the time and energy for artistry or anything else.

I also wanted and wanted and was weighed down by expectations. 

Red Comet is my family room book––the book I read when I'm in that room. In my bedroom, I read on my kindle. My current book is Joyce Maynard's latest novel: Count The Ways. I might end up liking it even more than my favorite Maynard book, Labor Day. When my eyes are tired or I want to have my hands and eyes free to embroider, then I listen to an Audible book. At the moment it's Wild by Cheryl Strayed, which thus far does not impress me. I saw the movie version long ago. It didn't impress me either, but I retained hope for the book. Oh, well.

More to come. So much more to come.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

*I remember the young woman from Boston because of the elaborate story she told me about her wealthy newspaper-owning family. I learned later than none of it was true.

**The grandparents moved away. I wasn't sorry to see the whole kit and caboodle go. I had once caught a glimpse of their kitchen and was shocked by the filth. After they left, I learned the entire house was in sad condition, with mold hanging like lace from the ceilings and fleas in the carpets. I hope the child's health wasn't damaged by the time she spent there. 

26 comments:

  1. Currently reading George III - America's Last King by Jeremy Black, Lord Hervey by Robert Halsband (a historical biography) and M L Longworth's Murder in the Rue Dumas (the second of a series set in Provence where I have spent many happy holidays).

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  2. Hi Janie - all the best with the new job. Red Comet sounds an interesting and informative read about Sylvia Plath - a book I'd like to look at (if I don't read it) at some stage. Thanks for the remembrances and the introduction to this book on Plath's life. All the best - Hilary

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    1. Thank you, Hilary. The book includes some nice photos of Plath and family members.

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  3. I strongly suspect that a member of a prominent Boston family would not have said "Youse guys!" That was probably a dead giveaway!

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    1. At that moment, I thought it was part of rejecting her family and trying to have a more normal lifestyle.

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  4. Sadly, I think I am one of those people who know Plath simply because she killed herself, and that's not fair. may have to do some reading up on her works.

    xoxo

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    1. That's not your fault. Suicide helped make her famous.

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  5. Sylvia Plath led a very conflicted life alright. I think that's why so many second-wave feminists identified with her. I've never read any of Joyce Maynard's books but I have read memoirs by her sister Rona and her mother Fredelle Bruser, both of whom made their marks in Canadian literature and journalism.

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    1. I haven't read Rona and Fredelle, but Joyce often speaks of them and writes about them.

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  6. She sounds like a fascinating person and author. Poetry is just a wondrous way of communicating isn't it?

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    1. The poet can give words to feelings that for the rest of us are indescribable.

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  7. The Bell Jar is one of my favorite books. Plath's story is so heart breaking. It was after reading the Bell Jar that I decided perfection was a curse. Sylvia Plath freed me. The scene in the book with the spotless kitchen that gave them all food poisoning? That scene changed my life.

    I also keep different books in different rooms! When I'm doing embroidery, I leave the tv on. I'm still too broke from college costs to afford audible. LOL

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    1. How interesting that the book changed your life! You had four boys go to college. I'm surprised you have a penny left for anything.

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  8. Really creepy and unexpected inside some people's homes.
    I am not familiar with Plath. Not even enough to know she killed herself. I do love Dickinson, though. :)

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    1. And Dickinson cut herself off from the world to write her poetry.

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  9. Poor little girl. And oh the pseudo snob and her youse! I love Sylvia Plath and might have to get myself that book. I’ll see if I can get it as an ebook. (Yes, I prefer REAL books, but the ebooks sure are convenient.) We’re watching, finally, The Americans, and were hooked in the first few minutes. I finished Miriam Margolyes and don’t have another book lined up. I don’t think I’ve read anything by Joyce Maynard. Maybe she should be next. I’m about to start reading tomorrow (final edit) chapters 1-17 of SG’s book. I’m not currently chastising myself. Don’t make me remember why I should. I’m so excited about your new job!

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    1. Red Comet is available as an ebook. I need to try The Americans. Sweet Cheeks is sure I would like it. If you want some light, humorous reading Joyce Maynard's To Die For is a good one.

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  10. Long books are easier to "read" if you listen to it as an audiobook.

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    1. That's true. Red Comet is so heavy I have trouble holding it.

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  11. I never knew "Hey" was a Midwestern thing. I thought it was a Southern thing. Maybe both?

    I also love Plath's poetry and I hadn't heard of this book. (Funny how a short life leads to such a long book!) I think the author's goals are laudable but Plath's suicide will always add intrigue and drama to her life story, and people respond to that. I've often wondered how popular she'd be with readers if she hadn't killed herself. Maybe more like Muriel Rukeyser or Adrienne Rich or Denise Levertov -- well-known, but not stratospherically so. I don't meant to demean Plath's writing but the tragedy of suicide and/or early death inevitably elevates a person's fame and reputation to a whole new level -- think Ann Sexton, or Marilyn Monroe, or James Dean.

    In other words, on some level, she will unfortunately always be remembered for gassing herself in her kitchen.

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    1. The woman from Boston thought "hey" was Midwestern, but I've heard it all over the country. You're right about Plath and suicide, although quite some time passed before her manner of death became widely known, especially in the U.S. Her mother tried to keep it quiet. After it became known, she really shot to fame, which is sad. People become caught up in the tragic/romantic/mysterious aspect of famous suicides. I admit Ted Hughes was a man I loved to hate. He's dead and I still hate him and I didn't like his damn poetry. Plath's work, however, indicates she was on a path to literary glory--and she was already successful--so I appreciate Clark's analysis.

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  12. Young people often say "hey" here in Canada, and it makes me cringe every time. Sylvia Plath was incredibly gifted! It makes me sad that she chose to end her life. Your book sounds interesting. I have a mountain of hardcovers waiting plus a bunch on the Kindle, and yet, I never seem to have the desire to sit and read anymore. We did recently enjoy a new series on Netflix called Luna Bay, set in Rome, 1962.

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    1. I grew up with hey, so it doesn't bother me. I don't think Plath felt she had any choice other than suicide because she was so depressed and ill.

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  13. Hey is a relatively new thing here, imported from TV shows and movies as far as I can tell. I like it, actually. It seems to say something different from Hi, although maybe that's just my imagination. Something less formal, more gentle, somehow.

    I usually have a different book (or more) for upstairs versus downstairs because I am a lazy so and so and can't be bothered trudging upstairs or downstairs as the case may be. I'm not reading anything mind-blowing the last while; it's been escape reading only. And I'm a read-only person; audio books, like radio commentary, annoy me to an unreasonable degree but I have accepted this is who I am :)

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    1. I didn't think I would like audio books until I got a free trial and discovered I like having someone read to me at bedtime. I've heard "hey" all my life.

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