After a short presentation and conversation between Dorka and Amanda on Plath’s affiliations with the supernatural, the politics of the witch trials during the Cold War, and the magical attributes of poetry, we will have an open discussion where you can also ask questions to the author.

Sylvia Plath and the Supernatural is published by Cambridge University Press on 31st January 2026, with the e-book available from 14th January. You can directly purchase the book at www.cambridge.org/9781009575515 and use code SPTS2026 at checkout for a 20% discount.

Time and date: Saturday 7 February 2026 at 7 PM GMT/2 PM ET.

Sylvia Plath and the Supernatural brings a fresh and interdisciplinary perspective to the reading of Plath. Following recently published new material, this book offers a novel approach to the re-examination and celebration of supernatural themes in Plath’s writings. It expands Plath studies by establishing Plath’s creative and intellectual interests in early modern literature about witches and demonology, knowledge of the legacies of the Salem witch trials during McCarthyism, and her depth of understanding of the complex relationship between gender and magical powers. The book also demonstrates how Plath and her contemporaries responded to post-war American and British politics through employing and repurposing supernatural concepts while engaging with popular culture, atomic warfare, and colonialism. This book provides a systematic overview of Plath’s materials, from draft manuscripts to The Bell Jar, and a unique analysis of post-war literature and culture through the lens of the supernatural.