Welcome to the latest installment of Vox Populi, where Columba College ākonga cast a critical eye over pop culture happenings. This week, Emily Roy (Year 9) makes a compelling case for adding Sylvia Plath to your reading lists...

Dark and distinctive, Sylvia Plath is a literary gem, and a pioneer for feminism and mental health. Her work is delicate and gut-wrenching, giving empathy and insight with a single sentence, opening the eyes of thousands to the truth of many issues. With Plath’s writing, everything is quotable. Everything is beautiful. Every word has been thoughtfully picked and every piece of punctuation conveys more then some can say with a whole book. Plath’s work can be at once painful and entrancing - people don’t just read Plath because it’s amazing; people read it to understand.

Plath was prolific. She had piles of notebooks stuffed with novels, poems and anthologies. Unfortunately, her ex-husband destroyed these books, claiming “he didn’t want her children to see them.” But what remains is her biggest gift to the world - the gorgeously introspective The Bell Jar. An autobiography of sorts, it tells the story of “Esther Greenwood” (a pseudonym for Plath herself.) The book follows Esther “descending into insanity” - not at all happy and unsure of her place in the world, she illustrates her thought process and opens up her mind for all to see.

This book is relatable and morbid, simplistic, yet so emotional. Whether you know someone who has struggled with mental health or not, it remains essential. Plath teaches us to look deeper, to understand and observe. While Plath herself was unable to be saved, she heeds a helpful warning to us - to never ignore those in need. Sylvia took her struggle and made a masterpiece of a novel. So look a little closer, “listen to the old brag of your heart”, and immerse yourself in The Bell Jar.