Introduction

Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton’s poetry was composed of open wounds. Vulnerable, tormented, and troubling, her work is often described as confessional and autobiographical. Sexton suffered from bipolar disorder, and both her mania and her depression fueled much of her poetry. Her writing began as a kind of therapy, and while it yielded many works of painful beauty, it was not a cure for her many troubles. The particularly raw The Awful Rowing Toward God was born out of some of the darkest days of her illness and, tellingly, was not published until after her death. Although her work graphically depicted sexuality, abuse, and mental illness, Sexton’s poetry broke new ground in both content and expression.

Essential Facts

1. Sexton became close friends with fellow poet and The Bell Jar author Sylvia Plath. Sadly, both troubled writers committed suicide at a young age.
2. The release of tapes from Sexton’s therapy sessions (albeit posthumously) stirred debates over patient-client confidentiality. In the tapes, Sexton intimated that she may have molested her daughter.
3. Sexton was nominated for numerous awards in her short life, winning the Pulitzer in 1967 for her collection Live or Die.
4. Sexton’s poetry appeared in such noted publications as The New Yorker and Harper’s Review.
5. Like later troubled writers such as the late British playwright Sarah Kane, Sexton’s illness is often seen as inseparable from her artistic achievements.