You’re a teacher! You’re teaching poetry!
Bless you!
Btw, did Smith College help you out, or did you find it from another source?
One of my former English professors helped me out.
I’m in the midst of a two week unit on poetry. We studied Emily Dickinson last week and Sylvia Plath this week.
I also have a unit planned on war poetry in a few weeks.
May I recommend Yusef Komunyakaa’s Dien Cai Dau. And, of course, selections from Whitman (but you’re probably already using those).
Right on. I loved Sylvia Plath’s poems when we read them in high school. So much so that I went and found a copy of The Bell Jar to read.
The movie about Sylvia Plath that starred Gwyneth Paltrow was filmed in the seaside village where I grew up.
I know it’s not quite relevant, but I just like saying it because it amazes me so much.
Actually I hadn’t planned on using that one. I will have to look at it.
I’m using Siegred Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Randall Jarrel and some Israeli war poetry. I’m still looking for a few more poems to round it out. I also plan to use an excerpt from Catch-22 and Johnny Got His Gun.
I’m using a few clips from the movie and sone of them is when they are at the seaside and Plath is suffering from insecurity and writer’s block.
Good choices. My students always had strong reactions to Dien Cai Dau – powerful stuff about Viet Nam.
Wilfred Owen. Yeah. One of the best.
Randall Jarrell’s “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” was the poem that opened my eyes, at the age of 10, to what poetry could be.
I love Own and “Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” is one of the most powerful poems ever written. I am off to read to Dien Cai Dau!
She’s (Aurelia Plath) my great aunt and we always said aw-real-ya. But then again, I could be completely crazy considering my ancestry 
I would love to hear any stories you are willing to share!
Also the name of an old Lancia
Don’t really have anything other I can tell you that our family is a testament to the fact the there is a genetic link with manic depression :). I’m not divulging any family secrets, but I’m not kidding.
Feel free to ignore these question if you feel it is an inappropriate question, but how did the family feel about the posthumous fame that Sylvia has received? Did the Plath family remain close to Sylvia’s two children?