[Vwoolf] Virginia Woolf, Syvia Plath, and a decommissioned lighthouse (Belle Tout)

Mary Ellen Foley mefoleyuk at gmail.com
Thu Apr 13 18:26:05 EDT 2017


Somebody has to say it: A premonitory promontory?

Mary Ellen

On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 7:20 PM, <kllevenback at att.net> wrote:

> A dear friend of mine living in Australia just wrote to ask the following;
> he also included the attached photo.
>
> Can anyone help?
>
> “I have a literary favour to ask. On a clifftop in Sussex stands a
> decommissioned lighthouse that rejoices under the name of Belle Tout (
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Tout_lighthouse). My question is
> this. Is it true that Sylvia Plath stayed there while writing some of the
> poems in her posthumously published collection Crossing the water? There is
> no particular reason you should know, but with your literary connections I
> thought perhaps you might know where to look. There is a solitary passing
> reference to it on-line, but since it's the only one, I must treat it with
> caution.
>
> My curiosity was aroused by a possible synchronicity. Of all the writerly
> retreats that Plath could possibly have chosen, why choose the only one
> that looks out on the world's premier suicide spot, Beachy Head? The
> attached photo shows the view that Plath would have had from her window.
> Given the acres of print that have been written about her, you would think
> that other writers would have spotted the premonitory connection. But
> apparently not.
>
> Surely I am not the first? Any guidance, or indeed incisive thoughts,
> would be welcome.”
>
> With thanks--
> Karen Levenback
>
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