Too soon?
Yesterday was a sick day so I didn't have the energy or brain power to write anything, not even a grocery list. However, LitHub kindly informed me that it was Sylvia Plath's birthday. Now that I'm feeling slightly more human today, I will go home and sit in front of my gas oven in her honor. Kidding. Too soon?
Whenever I think about Sylvia and her work I automatically think of asylums. I know, who's surprised by that? I think I can link anything in life back to asylums in one way or another but Sylvia famously did time at McLean Hospital here in Massachusetts as did author Susanna Kaysen of Girl, Interrupted fame, and my other favorite female poet Anne Sexton who was featured in the LitHub digest last Friday. A literary mind is inextricably linked with madness. We all have a touch of it, we have to if we are going to sink ourselves into an imaginary world for however many years it takes to write our novels or pen our poetry. In the case of Sylvia and Anne, every piece they wrote dug deep into the darkest corners of themselves and very often, the reactions of their peers were not what one would consider positive so it's not surprising that these women sought refuge in a madhouse where their creativity could run wild under the guise of madness.
McLean hosted a number of other famous faces: singer/songwriter James Taylor whose song Knockin' Around the Zoo is about his time there; Ray Charles made an appearance; and famed mathematician John Nash (Beautiful Minds) was treated at McLean, the swankiest private asylum on the East coast. However, it sits just one town over from three more institutions: Fernald Developmental Center (State School for the Feeble Minded), Metropolitan State Hospital, and Gaebler Children's Center. The towns of Waltham and Belmont have a storied history when it comes to their asylums and state schools.
After today, I have decided to include book reviews amidst my ramblings about writing, authors, and asylums. I've joined NetGalley, a website that provides electronic ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) in exchange for honest reviews so I figure I might as well include them here as well for your viewing pleasure! I'm looking forward to starting with Holly Seddon's Try Not to Breathe followed by Alex Mar's Witches of America, then Mia Gallagher's Hellfire which I have to say has been a bitch to procure in the US!
All that to say, stay tuned my friends. More poison coming your way.
xoxo
Poison
Whenever I think about Sylvia and her work I automatically think of asylums. I know, who's surprised by that? I think I can link anything in life back to asylums in one way or another but Sylvia famously did time at McLean Hospital here in Massachusetts as did author Susanna Kaysen of Girl, Interrupted fame, and my other favorite female poet Anne Sexton who was featured in the LitHub digest last Friday. A literary mind is inextricably linked with madness. We all have a touch of it, we have to if we are going to sink ourselves into an imaginary world for however many years it takes to write our novels or pen our poetry. In the case of Sylvia and Anne, every piece they wrote dug deep into the darkest corners of themselves and very often, the reactions of their peers were not what one would consider positive so it's not surprising that these women sought refuge in a madhouse where their creativity could run wild under the guise of madness.
McLean hosted a number of other famous faces: singer/songwriter James Taylor whose song Knockin' Around the Zoo is about his time there; Ray Charles made an appearance; and famed mathematician John Nash (Beautiful Minds) was treated at McLean, the swankiest private asylum on the East coast. However, it sits just one town over from three more institutions: Fernald Developmental Center (State School for the Feeble Minded), Metropolitan State Hospital, and Gaebler Children's Center. The towns of Waltham and Belmont have a storied history when it comes to their asylums and state schools.
After today, I have decided to include book reviews amidst my ramblings about writing, authors, and asylums. I've joined NetGalley, a website that provides electronic ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) in exchange for honest reviews so I figure I might as well include them here as well for your viewing pleasure! I'm looking forward to starting with Holly Seddon's Try Not to Breathe followed by Alex Mar's Witches of America, then Mia Gallagher's Hellfire which I have to say has been a bitch to procure in the US!
All that to say, stay tuned my friends. More poison coming your way.
xoxo
Poison
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