Bag Lunch Arts Program

The Other Side of Sylvia Plath presented by Pam Blevins.Sylvia Plath is regarded as a tragic figure of poetry, feminist icon of feminists, and confessional poet whose brilliant imagery illuminated twentieth century poetry and gave it a new voice. Her bouts of mental illness and her suicide at the age of 30 have led to an excess of analysis that casts her life and work as a litany of darkness and despair.  But there was another side to this complex woman, one rich in color, light and imagination that was the alter ego to her poetry – Sylvia Plath the visual artist. Few people realize that Plath was also a gifted illustrator, painter and fashion designer for whom art was always her “deepest source of inspiration.”  As a young woman in college, Plath faced a difficult choice: which path to follow – art or poetry. Poetry won, but her own artistic gift and her love of art stayed with her, giving her poetry its richness, color, depth and vision. She painted with words.  This program explores how her art became one with her poetry; outlines her background; focuses on her development as both a poet and artist, and the trajectory of an illness that eventually consumed her. Illustrated with photographs, examples of Plath’s art and a recording of Plath reading

Brevard resident Pamela Blevins is a music historian, former journalist, photographer and public relations consultant. She is the co-founder and editor of “Signature: Women in Music” an online magazine about women in classical music. She is the author of the critically acclaimed dual biography of English composer-poet Ivor Gurney and English musicologist, critic and writer Marion Scott, “Ivor Gurney and Marion Scott: Song of Pain and Beauty.” She has completed “Beyond the Hand of God,” the first of three non-fiction three books about murders in the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts, where she was the former editor of the local newspaper.

For a complete list of upcoming scheduled Bag Lunch programs click here.

Our monthly Bag Lunch Arts Series spotlights authors, artists, performers, and speakers sharing their talent and knowledge. Held on the third Tuesday of most months at 12 noon in the Rogow Family Community Room. Patrons are encouraged to bring along a bag lunch to enjoy before the program. Cookies and coffee are courtesy of the Friends of the Library. Programs last approximately one hour.