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Sylvia Plath

Books

Famous Authors’ Handwritten Outlines for Great Works of Literature

By Emily Temple on

Writing a novel (or a story, for that matter) is confusing work. There are just so many characters running all over the place, dropping hints and having revelations. So it’s no surprise that many authors plan out their works beforehand, in chart or list or scribble form, in order to keep everything straight. Click through for collection of those planning papers, which offer a peek into the process of some of your favorite authors, from James Salter to J.K.… Read More

Pop Culture

The Revealing Childhood and Teenage Letters of Pop Culture Figures

By Alison Nastasi on

There’s something incredibly intimate about letter writing: the indelible mark on a page, the permanence of ink, and the process of consideration before putting pen to paper. Even a typewritten page feels vastly more personal than one created with a computer. While you’re scrawling a Mother’s Day card to mum or your other significant parental person this weekend, the act may take you back to simpler times during your childhood when you shared your thoughts with a pen and not an iPhone. We’re sure it’s no different for the writers, musicians, and actors we revere. Before they were the names on everyone’s lips, they were sharing their hopes, dreams, and wondering about the world through their childhood and teenage letters. See what insightful missives we uncovered, below. … Read More

Books

10 Great Movies Based on Poems

By Emily Temple on

We’re all pretty comfortable with the idea of movies based on books — fiction, nonfiction, and even self-help books — but what about books of poetry? Last week, Open Culture posted a fascinating film based on the poetry of Sylvia Plath. While it might seem surprising to see a film based on a poem, it’s actually probably a lot more common than you think. To prove it, find ten great films based on poetry after the jump. Don’t see your favorite? Add it to the list in the comments. … Read More

Books

9 Famous Authors Who Did Stints in Mental Institutions

By Emily Temple on

Everyone knows that all authors are totally crazy, right? After all, that’s what makes so many of them so brilliant. But today, on the anniversary of Ezra Pound’s federally mandated release from St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for the criminally insane, where he had been held for 13 years following his arrest on charges of treason, we celebrate those authors who have actually been institutionalized for their mental illnesses (or, in some cases, for what others thought was mental illness). … Read More

Books

21 Books Written by and About Women That Every Man Should Read

By Emily Temple on

This week, we read a great interview with Meg Wolitzer (whose just-released novel The Interestings is currently being enjoyed by more than one member of this office). “Men,” she says, “with very few exceptions, won’t read books about women.” Though not exactly a new idea, this pronouncement gains a little force by coming hot on the heels of GQ‘s “The New Canon: The 21 Books from the 21st Century Every Man Should Read,” which contains (you guessed it, drumroll please, etc.) three books written by women. Though we won’t disparage any of the books that made the list, we will offer our own — as an attempt to work towards ameliorating the problem laid out by Wolitzer and neatly exemplified by GQ. After all, though there are three books by women on their list, only the Munro could really be said to be primarily about them. After the jump, 21 books by and about women that we think every man should read. … Read More

Art

Gorgeous Etchings Based on Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’

By Emily Temple on

There is a certain kind of girl who never gets over the first time she reads Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar – a sensitive, intellectual girl, with one eyebrow raised. This is also the kind of girl who will love the work of New York City-based illustrator Jensine Eckwall. In one of her projects, which we spotted over at This Isn’t Happiness, Eckwall illustrated Plath’s novel in etching and aquatint with hand-applied watercolor, to gorgeous results. Click through to see Eckwall’s Plath series, and then be sure to head on over to her website for much more of her work. … Read More

Books

Read the First Poems of 10 Famous Poets

By Emily Temple on

In conjunction with the recent publication of a new, gorgeous dual-language edition of The Collected Poems of Marcel Proust, this morning The Daily Beast shared the first poem ever written by Marcel Proust (as far as anyone knows). The poem, penned when the legendary author was a mere 17 years old, reflects his struggle with homosexuality and his blossoming talent. After the jump, read Proust’s debut poem and a collection of nine other of the earliest known verses of now famous poets. Did we miss your favorite? Let us know about it in the comments. … Read More

Books

Fascinating Photos of Famous Authors as Teenagers

By Emily Temple on

Over the weekend, Vol.1 Brooklyn pointed us towards a delightful collection of never-before-seen photographs of Ernest Hemingway as a teenager, in all his handsomely smug glory. Inspired, we took it upon ourselves to dig up a handful of snapshots of other legendary authors in those awkward (or not so awkward, as the case may be) teenage years, before they penned the words that made them… Read More

Books

The Fascinating Self-Portraits of 20 Famous Authors

By Emily Temple on

They say writing is a form of self-expression — but it’s not the only one. And if we had to guess, we’d bet that many of our favorite authors have a little bit more going on in their heads than the average person, so it makes sense to us that their creativity might spill out into other mediums. To that end, we’ve curated a small selection of wonderful visual self-portraits by famous authors — from scribbles to full-on oil paintings, from cheeky one-offs to serious painterly studies. Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the comments. … Read More

Books

20 Highly Sexy Photos of Highbrow Authors [NSFW]

By Emily Temple on

If you’re reading this, like as not you are one of those who thrilled at the shirtless photo of Mark Twain that has been recently making its rounds around the Internet. Here at Flavorpill, we were so — ahem — excited by the snapshot that we decided to round up a few other highly sexy photos of highbrow authors from the last two centuries. After all, authors posing in various states of undress is a trend that shows no signs of dying out — you’ll be able to get your paws on a whole calendar of “nearly nude” Canadian authors later in the year. Check out some scandalous writers after the jump — and since sexy is subjective, link us to any unbearably steamy author photos you’ve found in the comments. But casual readers be warned: there is full frontal male and female nudity in this post. … Read More