Heather Clark discusses her new and highly praised biography of Sylvia Plath with celebrated biographer Hermione Lee, as well as Oxford University student, Lucy Cobold. They talk about the challenges of writing “big” biography (Clark’s biography of Plath is over 900 pages); the importance of treating women like Plath and Virginia Woolf first and foremost as professional writers rather than patients; and the conscious decision to avoid certain loaded words (like ‘doomed’ or ‘neurotic’) when approaching a writer like Plath.

Find out more about

The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing: www.oclw.ox.ac.uk @OxLifeWriting.

Heather Clark: https://heatherclarkauthor.com/  @Plathbiography

Hermione Lee: http://www.hermionelee.com/

Works mentioned

- Heather Clark, Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath (Knopf, 2020)

- Hermione Lee, Virginia Woolf (Chatto & Windus, 1996).

Artwork by Una.

Edited by Charles Pidgeon.

If you'd like to be more involved, access exclusive events and attend our virtual book club, then join our Friends Scheme. We also offer writing groups and mentoring to those working on their own life writing projects.