Troubled Genius – A Performance of Sylvia Plath’s Poetry

Sylvia Plath was one of the twentieth century’s greatest poets, who tragically took her own life at the age of 30 in 1963. Plath’s poetry is vibrant with verbal daring and startling imagery. The poems explore women’s experience as daughters, partners and mothers with great empathy. At the same time, Plath’s palette as a poet is dark and at times nightmarish, reflecting her lifelong struggle with mental ill-health. This performance will showcase Plath’s poetic genius with a variety of poems written across her short life, followed by an opportunity for the audience to discuss the poems with the performer.

Dr Kai Jensen is a poet who lives at Fairhaven, on Wallaga Lake. Sylvia Plath is one of his two or three most favourite poets. Kai is an experienced performance poet: he ran the Poetry Live readings in Auckland in 1988 and 1989, toured New Zealand as a member of the poetry performance troupe Perfect Teeth, and came second in the Melbourne poetry slam competition in 2007. He also has a doctorate in English, equipping him to help audiences understand poetry. Kai’s poems have been published in many Australian, New Zealand and United States literary journals.

Please note that this event features sensitive content that may be distressing to some people including topics of suicide.

Bermagui Library