Soy vertical pero preferiría ser horizontal

by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath es una de las poetas más admiradas del siglo XX. Sus versos, que a lo largo de los años han ido cobrando protagonismo especialmente después de que se quitara la vida a los treinta años, son un intento de expresar su desesperación y su obsesión por la muerte. Sus poemas se pueden considerar en gran parte autobiográficos y exploran su angustia mental, su problemático matrimonio con el también poeta Ted Hughes y los conflictos sin resolver con sus padres, así como la visión que tenía de ella misma. Tanto ella como su obra se ha ido perfilando hasta el día de hoy como uno de los grandes iconos del feminismo, y su poesía -en especial El coloso y el póstumo Ariel-, como objetos adorados, valiosas pruebas de que Sylvia Plath fue una de las grandes figuras de la literatura del pasado siglo. Después de más de cincuenta años de ser escritos, sus versos todavía contienen toda su intensidad, todo su dolor y toda su belleza. «Entonces el cielo y yo conversamos abiertamente.Y seguro que seré más útil cuando al fin me tienda para quizá los árboles me toquen por una vezy las flores, finalmente, tengan tiempo para mí.»

72 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the most influential and emotionally powerful authors of the 20th century. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she demonstrated literary talent from an early age, publishing her first poem at the age of eight. Her early life was shaped by the death of her father, Otto Plath, when she was eight years old, a trauma that would profoundly influence her later work.
Plath attended Smith College, where she excelled academically but also struggled privately with depression. In 1953, she survived a suicide attempt, an experience she later fictionalized in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. After recovering, she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College, Cambridge, in England. While there, she met and married English poet Ted Hughes in 1956. Their relationship was passionate but tumultuous, with tensions exacerbated by personal differences and Hughes's infidelities.
Throughout her life, Plath sought to balance her ambitions as a writer with the demands of marriage and motherhood. She had two children with Hughes, Frieda and Nicholas, and continued to write prolifically. In 1960, her first poetry collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in the United Kingdom. Although it received modest critical attention at the time, it laid the foundation for her distinctive voice—intensely personal, often exploring themes of death, rebirth, and female identity.
Plath's marriage unraveled in 1962, leading to a period of intense emotional turmoil but also extraordinary creative output. Living with her two children in London, she wrote many of the poems that would posthumously form Ariel, the collection that would cement her literary legacy. These works, filled with striking imagery and raw emotional force, displayed her ability to turn personal suffering into powerful art. Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" remain among her most famous, celebrated for their fierce honesty and technical brilliance.
In early 1963, following a deepening depression, Plath died by suicide at the age of 30. Her death shocked the literary world and sparked a lasting fascination with her life and work. The posthumous publication of Ariel in 1965, edited by Hughes, introduced Plath's later poetry to a wide audience and established her as a major figure in modern literature. Her novel The Bell Jar was also published under her own name shortly after her death, having initially appeared under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas."
Plath’s work is often classified within the genre of confessional poetry, a style that emphasizes personal and psychological experiences. Her fearless exploration of themes like mental illness, female oppression, and death has resonated with generations of readers and scholars. Over time, Plath has become a feminist icon, though her legacy is complex and occasionally controversial, especially in light of debates over Hughes's role in managing her literary estate and personal history.
Today, Sylvia Plath is remembered not only for her tragic personal story but also for her immense contributions to American and English literature. Her work continues to inspire writers, artists, and readers worldwide. Collections such as Ariel, Crossing the Water, and Winter Trees, as well as her journals and letters, offer deep insight into her creative mind. Sylvia Plath’s voice, marked by its intensity and emotional clarity, remains one of the most haunting and enduring in modern literature.

Reviews

[Milena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro que leo en completo a La campana de cristal, ya que antes no había leído nada de Plath. Su poesía está llena de imágenes relacionadas con la vida, la muerte, la maternidad y los hombres que apagan el buen vivir, el bienestar. Mis poemas favoritos pueden ser Soy vertical, Tres mujeres (durísimo para abordar la maternidad es logradas y no), El ahorcado (si ese dios fuera yo, haría lo que hice), Papi y, por supuesto, Lady Lázaro... que no solo está muy bien escrito, sino que enuncía de manera dolorosa el deseo de morir de Sylvia (lo escribe unos cuatro meses antes de suicidarse).