Meg Schoerke at the Hudson Review:
Although Sylvia Plath is best known for the cutting lyricism of Ariel (1965) and for her autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar (1963), her career goal as a writer was threefold: to write poetry, novels, and short stories. As detailed in her journals, she devoted equal time to poetry and fiction, shifting her focus to stories when she felt stalled as a poet, then returning to poetry when she lost confidence in herself as a fiction writer. More than a record of her experiences, the journals document her clear-eyed assessments of her strengths and weaknesses as a writer, her resolve to improve through relentless practice, and, especially for the short fiction, her ongoing study of markets she sought to crack: literary venues such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and The London Magazine; women’s magazines such as Mademoiselle, Woman’s Day, Ladies’ Home Journal; and even pulp monthlies such as True Story. As these last examples suggest, Plath’s objective as a short story writer, beginning in high school when she submitted work to Seventeen Magazine, was to make money, initially to supplement her college scholarships, and then to earn a living as a professional writer—and sustain her career as a poet—without having to teach. To expand her range of genres and contribute to the income stream, Plath also wrote nonfiction.
more here.
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