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245th out of 1,030 books
—
1,058 voters
Crossing the Water
by
Sylvia Plath
The Poetry of Sylvia Plath.
Paperback, 64 pages
Published
May 9th 1980
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1971)
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Crossing the Water by Sylvia Plath is the collection between The Colossus and before the publication of Ariel, and it continues to push the envelop between dark and light. Plath has come to represent the dichotomy of dark and light in all of us, with our deep passions and desires that lie in tension with our duty to family and society. In this collection, the water becomes a metaphor for the surface veneer that many of us carry, but Plath examines how easily this surface can be shaken and distur...more
Plath's poems in this beautiful and haunting collection are akin to the sensation of gripping an ice cube in the palm of your hand. Painful and raw, Plath deals in what most people cannot accept or sit with: the passing of seasons, the sharp edges of living, the threadbare fragility of life. The objects of her poems--a barrette, a candle, a mirror--are beautiful because they are temporary, and because they are temporary they are also painful.
My favorite poems of this collection are "Insomniac,""...more
My favorite poems of this collection are "Insomniac,""...more
My favorites: "Candles"; "Last Words"; "A Life" (especially the ending); the bit about the sheep's slot-like eyes in "Wuthering Heights". An atmospheric collection that balances tenuously between the stonily impersonal (The Colossus) and the blazingly personal (Ariel).
An excerpt from "Last Words":
"I do not trust the spirit. It escapes like steam
In dreams, through mouth-hole or eye-hole. I can't stop it.
One day it won't come back. Things aren't like that.
They stay, their little particular lusters...more
An excerpt from "Last Words":
"I do not trust the spirit. It escapes like steam
In dreams, through mouth-hole or eye-hole. I can't stop it.
One day it won't come back. Things aren't like that.
They stay, their little particular lusters...more
Not as good as Ariel, but still a wonderful, and painful, read. Plath's imagery is like no other, her poems have a distinctive feel I can find nowhere else. They are disturbing, yet beautiful. Depressing, and impressive. Her poetry makes me write myself. My favourite in this particular collection must have been "Who". It resounded in me. I read it again and again.
Clear, chilling, and beautiful.
From "Who":
The hoops of blackberry stems made me cry.
Now they light me up like an electric bulb.
For weeks I can remember nothing at all.
From "Who":
The hoops of blackberry stems made me cry.
Now they light me up like an electric bulb.
For weeks I can remember nothing at all.
There's the good, the bad and the depressing. There is the beautiful and the plain WTF ones.
All in all, not bad, and that's coming from someone with no ear for poetry.
All in all, not bad, and that's coming from someone with no ear for poetry.
Plath's wit is lacking in this collection. I was expecting it to be as sharply fitted to the skeleton of the work as it is quick and bold in Ariel, but was a little disappointed.
"The Surgeon at 2am" and "The Mirror" are two of my favorites, they say it all. They shine like diamonds on a bed of precious stones.
Her poems are beautiful. The way Plath could put words together is delightful. Poetry was definitely her thing, not prose.
By far my favorite from her. Her brilliance and insight to herself and things around her were just genius. =)
This book makes me wonder why no one tried to stop her from killing herself.
just awesome!
Read Sylvia Plath for the first time -- fucking amazing. From The Zoo Keeper's Wife: [You wooed me with wolf-headed bats hanging from their scorched hooks in the moist Fug of the Small Mammal House. The armadillo dozed in his sandbin obscene and bald as a pig, the white mice mulitiplied to infinity like angels on a pinhead out of sheer boredom. Tangled in the sweat-wet sheets I remember the bloodied chicks and quartered rabbits.]
Sylvia Plath is a genius. Some of my favorites are Wuthering Heights, Blackberrying, Mirror. But really, I loved them all so much I've picked up Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams again, which I had never finished. Finishing Crossing the Water makes me want to read everything Plath.
obsessed.
Was expecting to like it a bit more than I did, I confess. I had read some quotes of her poems on tumblr, which made me curious to read her work (yes, that happened; deal with it), but this left me a bit disappointed. Maybe I started with the wrong Plath's book. I'm giving her another chance, with The Bell Jar.
Quite possibly my favorite book of poems by Sylvia Plath--and that is saying something as she is one of my favorite poets. This particular books speaks to me deeply in so many ways. The poem "Insomniac" is so personal for me, and so beautifully wrought. I highly recommend this book.
Brilliant as usual, Sylvia!
This seems more genuine than the previous books I've read. I have not read Ariels. This does not seem as laborious or forced as the others. She appears to be coming into her own, gaining strength, abandoning previous inhibitions & influences.
There's a lot of good stuff here, though I remember liking more. I'd like to reread all of her stuff eventually.
Reading a Plath book always makes me feel inspired and frightened at the very same time, and this was just as amazing.
this is probably around the middle of her poetry releases. i just love her. read her if you like
good poetry.
good poetry.
Harsh, severe, and beatiful, Plath shines within the genre of poetry.
plath at her best in the poem "Finisterre" . . .
I enjoy her poetry but some of it is dark
Jun 19, 2013
Fatima
marked it as to-read
Jun 19, 2013
Elizabeth Bennet
marked it as to-read
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Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer.
Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The book's protagonist, Esther Greenwood, is a bright, ambitious student at Smith College who begins to experience a mental breakdown while interning for a fashion magazine in New York. The plot paralle...more
More about Sylvia Plath...
Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The book's protagonist, Esther Greenwood, is a bright, ambitious student at Smith College who begins to experience a mental breakdown while interning for a fashion magazine in New York. The plot paralle...more
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“Stars open among the lilies.
Are you not blinded by such expressionless sirens?
This is the silence of astounded souls.”
—
32 people liked it
Are you not blinded by such expressionless sirens?
This is the silence of astounded souls.”
“The sky leans on me, me, the one upright among all horizontals.”
—
20 people liked it
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Apr 24, 2013 11:30am
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