In June 1957, Plath and Hughes returned to New York, and then spent time in Eastham on Cape Cod. They wrote and explored the area. By September, they were in Northampton and Plath prepared for her classes. Teaching was hard and prevented Plath from having the energy to really write, and by Spring 1958, they made plans to leave academia and live as full-time writers. They moved to Beacon Hill in Boston; Plath took odd jobs and both found productivity in their freedom. Plath resumed seeing Dr. Ruth Beuscher, and in the spring of 1959, audited a writing course with Robert Lowell, and befriended Anne Sexton. Plath and Hughes traveled across the US and Canada in the summer and then spent the autumn writing at Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, NY. At this time Plath was also pregnant. Plath and Hughes sailed for England in December. The next photograph gallery covers the period of 1960-1963, when Plath and Hughes lived in London and North Tawton, England.
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Eastham, Cape Cod. Plath and Hughes honeymooned in a cottage much like this.
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Nauset Light Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod. "Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off beautiful Nauset."
(from "Daddy").
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Nauset Light Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod. Sand cliffs, looking north.
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Rock Harbor, Cape Cod. See Plath's first New Yorker poem "Mussel Hunter at Rock Harbor."
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Mussels at Rock Harbor. See Plath's poem "Mussel Hunter at Rock Harbor."
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337 Elm Street, Northampton, Massachusetts. Plath and Hughes lived, on the third floor, here from 1957-1958.
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Childs Memorial Park, Northampton, Massachusetts. See Plath's poem "Child's Park Stones."
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Childs Memorial Park, Northampton, Massachusetts. See Plath's poem "Child's Park Stones."
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Childs Park has stones like this throughout.
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Stone lion head fountain, Childs Park. See Plath's poem "Fable of the Rhododendron Stealers" and Journals, pages 393-95.
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Rose beds in Childs Park. See "Fable of the Rhododendron Stealers."
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The path leading from Paradise Pond, Smith College. See Journals, pages 386-91.
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9 Willow Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Plath and Hughes lived on the sixth floor of this building from September 1958 to August 1959.
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The red arrow designates 9 Willow Street.
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Fassett Recording Studio, 24 Chestnut Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Just around the corner from 9 Willow Street, Plath recorded her poetry here for the Woodberry Poetry Room, Lamont Library, Harvard.
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The Ritz, Arlington Street, Boston. Plath, Sexton, and others came here to drink after attending Robert Lowell's class at Boston University.
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15 Agawam Road, Waban, Massachusetts. The home of Dr. Ruth Beuscher. Plath occasionally had therapy sessions here in late 1958 and 1959.
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Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, New York. Plath and Hughes spent the fall of 1959 here. Plath wrote the majority of poems from The Colossus here.
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The rose garden at Yaddo. See Plath's poem "The Manor Garden."
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The mansion house of Yaddo. Plath describes some of the rooms in her journals and poems.
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Woods at Yaddo. A quiet place for inspiration.
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A pond at Yaddo. See Plath's poem "Dark Wood, Dark Water."
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West House, Yaddo. Plath and Hughes' bedroom was on the first floor, and her study was on the third.
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"By the gate with star and moon." From Sylvia Plath's poem "Medallion."
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Glass atlas, Yaddo, described by Plath in her journals. See page 503 (Faber, 2000).
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Lamp Fixture, Yaddo, described and drawn by Plath in her journals. See pages 502-03 (Faber, 2000).
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The mosiac phoenix fireplace, Yaddo. See Plath's poem "Yaddo: The Grand Manor": "Indoors, Tiffany's phoenix rises / Above the fireplace."
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Inlaid chair, Yaddo, described and partially drawn by Plath in her journals. See page 505-06 (Faber, 2000).
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"Bust of Homere", Yaddo, mentioned by Plath in her journals. See page 502 (Faber, 2000).
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