ARIEL by Plath, Sylvia - 1965

London: Faber and Faber, 1965. First edition. Near fine in very good plus dust jacket.. First printing of Sylvia Plath's second book of poetry, published two years after her death - a dark and personal collection. ARIEL contains crystalizations of Plath's struggles with mental illness, depression, and abuse, largely penned during a sharp uptick in productivity after separating from her husband. Her vivid use of imagery heightens the confessional nature of the poems, sometimes twisting into the surreal and horrific. "ARIEL is not easy poetry to criticize. It is not much like any other poetry. It is her," notes the February 1965 issue of the POETRY BOOK SOCIETY BULLETIN; the Society named it their Spring Choice of that year. This is a particularly clean copy, with a copy of the relevant BULLETIN loosely laid in. 8.5'' x 5.25''. Original red cloth boards. Original unclipped (12s 6d) yellow, blue, and red typographic dust jacket. 86 pages. Owner's name, D. S. Arckers, to front flyleaf. Poetry Book Society Bulletin from February 1965 loosely laid in. Jacket with four.75" closed tears, small chips near head and tail of spine, a bit of foxing to edges; spine a bit sunned. Binding with a touch of bumping to corners and spine ends, a hint of edgewear; faint foxing to endpapers. Interior clean and bright.