• Sylvia Plath, Mental Health, & Writing Fiction with Lee Kravetz

  • Jan 28 2022
  • Length: 57 mins
  • Podcast

Sylvia Plath, Mental Health, & Writing Fiction with Lee Kravetz

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  • Summary

  • * Lee Kravetz is author of the acclaimed nonfiction, Strange Contagion and SuperSurvivors. He has written for print and television, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Psychology Today, The Daily Beast, The San Francisco Chronicle, and PBS. Lee’s new book is a work of fiction, his novel The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. * The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. is told through three unique interwoven narratives that build on one another, reimagining a chapter in the life of the poet and novelist Sylvia Plath, telling the story behind the creation of her classic, The Bell Jar. * Lee gave an introduction to Plath, explaining that she was best known as a poet, until The Bell Jar, her semi-autobiographical novel about struggles with mental illness, became a huge posthumous success. * Podcast host Matthew Félix asked Lee about his decision to transition from nonfiction to fiction, including pushback he got initially from his agent—and why he persisted in spite of it. * Matthew and Lee discussed the challenges he faced as a man writing from the perspective of three first-person women narrators, as well as the challenges of effectively weaving together three stories taking place at different times. * One of the novel's main story lines entails a rivalry between a fictional poet and Sylvia Plath. Lee spoke about his decision to build much of the story around that rivalry, as well as the process of creating both characters and the rivalry itself. * Lee, who has a background in psychotherapy, explained the role of mental illness both in Plath's work and his novel. Matthew also asked Lee about the role Sylvia and other poets in the Confessional Poetry moment played in opening society to discussions about mental health. * Lee addressed the commonly held belief that there is a correlation between being "crazy" and creativity. * Lee elaborated on the notion, expressed by one of the characters in the novel, that insight into the past—while often considered essential to resolving mental health issues—can also trap a person there. * Matthew and Lee explored two other recurring themes of the book: the importance of objects and our relationships with them, and the notion that people's lives often come full circle. * Regarding craft, Lee shared his thoughts on and approach to writing suspense, pacing, and more. * The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. is out March 8.
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