Sylvia Plath's 87th Birthday

“How she longed for winter then! –
Scrupulously austere in its order
Of white and black
Ice and rock, each sentiment in border,
And heart’s frosty discipline
Exact as a snowflake.”

—Sylvia Plath, “Spinster”

Today’s Doodle celebrates the acclaimed American writer Sylvia Plath, whose painfully honest poetry and prose gave voice to the author’s innermost emotions in ways that touched generations of readers. “It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative,” wrote Plath, whose work helped many understand mental illness. “Whichever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.”

Born in Boston on this day in 1932, Sylvia Plath grew up with her father, a strict German and biology teacher specializing in the study of bees. Showing an early talent for writing, Plath was published in national publications, won awards, worked as an editor, and graduated from Smith College with honors—all despite suffering a mental breakdown. Her works often used heavy imagery and metaphors, set amongst scenes of winter and frost, as shown in today's Doodle.

After college, Plath earned a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to England. In 1982, she won a Pulitzer Prize posthumously. While her children’s book, The It-Doesn’t-Matter-Suit, shows a lighter side of her creativity, her poems were described by the novelist Joyce Carol Oates as reading “as if they’ve been chiseled, with a fine surgical instrument, out of arctic ice.”

Doodler Up Close

Today's Doodle was created by Doodler Sophie Diao. Below she shares some thoughts and on the making of the Doodle:

Q: When did you first become aware of Sylvia Plath? What part of her story do you find most inspiring personally? 

A: I think I had always been aware of Sylvia Plath, but the first time I read her work was the summer after my freshman year of college. I find her work very empowering, and I really admire how hardworking she was. Writing almost every day, while being a homemaker and mother, and organizing her and her husband’s finances, and applying for grants and fellowships… she was clearly a strong-willed enthusiast.  

Q: What was your creative approach for the Doodle celebrating Sylvia Plath’s 87th Birthday? How did you choose that approach?

A: I started by ordering her poetry anthologies and reading through them. I tried to find specific passages from her work that would thread together into a pseudo-narrative, but ended up pivoting to an illustration that would capture the mood of her work instead.

Q: At what point in your life did you know that you loved illustration? Was there a particular artist or teacher who inspired you to develop your talents?

A: I’ve always loved to draw! I thought I wanted to be a writer, actually, up until the middle of high school, but then I discovered animation and decided to pursue it. I went to an animation school where students had to learn all parts of the animation pipeline, and I learned that I most liked figuring out how the world and characters were going to look.

Q: Do you have any technical tips or tricks to share with up-and-coming artists/illustrators?

A: Keep an ongoing folder of reference that inspires you! Doesn’t just have to be images – books, movies, and songs work just as well.

Q: What do you hope people will take away from this Doodle?

A: I hope people are inspired to read some of Plath’s work and learn a bit more about her!