Why Sina Queyras got immersed in the life and feminism of Sylvia Plath

Image | Fall Preview: My Ariel by Sina Queyras

Caption: Sina Queyras is a poet and the author of My Ariel. (Coach House Books)

With My Ariel, Montreal poet Sina Queyras takes an analytical and poetic look at Sylvia Plath's Ariel. As a poem-by-poem engagement with Ariel — and the mythology surrounding it — the book examines the iconic text, and, by extension, cultural norms and attitudes.

Poetic exploration

"My Ariel is a multi-pronged engagement with Sylvia Plath's collection of poetry. I wanted to explore the poems themselves. I thought that I would have a nice way to reflect on the state of motherhood, which I had just entered into myself. But all of my work is an of exploration of the bridge between conceptual work and lyric work."

Emotional impact

"It's always a mystery to me when a poet can pack so many varied emotions into a poem so successfully and so succinctly. The book is also an exploration of the way in which we can do that both can such a compressed way and then letting it go in a real, expansive way."
Sina Queyras's comments have been edited for length and clarity.

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