48 years ago...

On a cold winter's day forty eight years ago in London, American poet Sylvia Plath took her own life at age 30, during one of the most brutal winters. Despondent over her husband Ted Hughes's affairs and suffering from depression, she taped up the doors in the kitchen to avoid the gas from escaping and poisoning her young children and gassed herself in the oven.

She was such a ferocious talent waiting to happen. Published one month before her suicide, her semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar was published under a pseudonym, Victoria Lucas...

And just like it is with "celebrity" deaths, her tragic end propelled her into the literary scene and gave her the recognition and fame that she desired in life. You know how it is, when someone famous dies, then all of a sudden, EVERYONE wants to buy his/her books, records, watch their movies, etc (John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jeff Buckley, Heath Ledger, etc.). I wonder how her death would have been handled in today's era of instant news and gratification. In 1963, there was no email, Twitter, Facebook or texting, which would have magnified her tragic act to the zillionth degree.

One of my favorite poetry books, Ariel (her second), was published two years after her death. The poems are vivid, angry, achingly sad and triumphant. You could tell she had major "daddy" issues.

Kind of a morbid post eh? But I've been fascinated with Sylvia Plath since my high school and college days. Yes, I also wore a lot of black back then. One of her poems, "Sow" (from The Colossus) was on the AP English Literature test. We had to analyze that damn poem and write an essay on it. I probably bullshitted my essay but it was enough for me to pass minimally and earn two freshman English college credits. But back to the poem...I specifically remember the word, "brobdingnagian bulk" and found her imagery and use of words fascinating even if I didn't understand everything she wrote. The Colossus, another poetry book originally published in 1960 was re-released after her death.

There was a film, "Sylvia" that attempted to tell her story, but it was quite anemic at best and exploitative at worst. It starred Gwyneth Paltrow (whom I can't stand as an actress) as Sylvia Plath and a pre-James Bond Daniel Craig as her husband, the poet Ted Hughes.

On a lighter note, today was one of the many Senior Ditch Days. Since it's class of 2011 this year, I'm sure the kids will use any excuse to be out of school on the "11th" of any month.

On a more celebratory note, today also marks the day that Egyptian President/Dictator Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down from his 30 year rule after 18 days of tumultuous protests. Down with dictators!