The poem “Courage” is featured in Anne Sexton's collection, The Awful Rowing toward God, released in 1975. This compilation largely explores the poet's search for significance, often through religious insight.

The Bell Jar (1963), a novel by Sylvia Plath, who was a close friend and fellow troubled poet of Sexton, narrates the fictional story of Esther Greenwood's spiral into insanity. Many critics interpret the novel as being largely autobiographical.

Robert Lowell's works, Life Studies and For the Union Dead, were published together by Noonday Press in 1967. Lowell, who taught Sexton, is recognized as one of the prominent confessional poets of the 1950s and 1960s. These two highly praised collections are among his most famous works.

Nicholas Mazza’s 1999 book, Poetry Therapy: Interface of the Arts and Psychology, explores the healing potential of creative writing, including metaphor, narrative, journal writing, storytelling, bibliotherapy, and poetry. Sexton, who spent much of her adult life in psychotherapy, viewed poetry writing as therapeutic. Mazza provides clear guidance on incorporating poetry into therapeutic practices.