Talk:Anne Sexton

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Removing a sentence[edit]

59.92.44.53 added the sentence "Anne was mad in nature and was a downright fool. To hell with with her poem.It is nothing but a insane's raving" to the first paragraph yesterday (Nov 14 2005). The sentence, imho, does not maintain npov and is otherwise out of place in this paragraph. I'd like to remove the sentence. Any objections? -sungo — Preceding undated comment added 11:01, 15 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Ah those innocent days of yesteryear. Today such an insertion would be quietly undone with the comment "rvv". —Tamfang (talk) 21:20, 10 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Depression[edit]

"She suffered from depression for most of her life" is NOT a clinical diagnosis. See also the Talk Page of the Category:Peoople diagnosed with clinical depression"

Michael David 11:28, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
She was admitted to mental hospitals for depression many times throughout her life. "Flee on your Donkey" was a result of one of these trips. There is a good book at my school's library that has more details. (I don't remember the title, but I remember the book.) I'll get it when I have a chance.
What talk page were you trying to reference? I could not find it.
Jebler 08:08, 2 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Linda Gray Sexton claims that Anne Sexton committed incest with her in her book[edit]

For some reason that was erased when I posted it before. Ms. Linda G. Sexton claims in her book about her mother and that her mother did in fact molest her. I realize that Ms. Sexton is known as a great poet and one that many people admire, but it is something that her daughter wrote about in her book.

I am unable to directly link the book (not available online) but I did find this book which mentions it.

http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0802067832&id=yB4HSMuHpYcC&pg=PA148&lpg=PA148&dq=Linda+Sexton+incest&sig=FdI2HmggBr9hkWBH3dpC8iusE74

As a further note, I believe Ms. Linda G. Sexton is the main person in charge of the Anne Sexton estate.

Yes, Linda Gray Sexton is in charge of the rights to her mother's literary works, republication and quotation requests, etc. It's something her mother set up years before her death. Perhaps the title is Literary Executor? Codenamemary (talk) 22:48, 28 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Linda Gray Sexton's very credible-sounding claims have been yanked out of the article repeatedly. Pretty disgusting to do this.Wbroun (talk) 13:49, 3 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Seems extensively discussed with references in this section. Not quite sure what yanking you are referring to. Maybe its an article history I'm not up on. Best wishes Spanglej (talk) 01:20, 4 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sexton's soap-opera life[edit]

I had a student do an Anne Sexton presentation the other day where she highlighted Sexton's incestuous relationship with her daughter and the romantic relationship with Sylvia Plath. I asked her if she was sure about both of those. She told me she got it from Wikipedia. I said, "Oh, I see. That's the problem." Can somebody PLEASE link to a better source for the incest thing. I tell my students not to use a dot com, and the verification of this controversial claim is a dot com. Also, the idea that a romantic relationship between Plath and Sexton is hinted at in "Sylvia's Death" is no proof of a romantic relationship. We read that poem together as a class, and you could just as easily see that as a close friendship. Is there ANY other proof? Besides, you know, interpretation? —Preceding unsigned comment added by F. Simon Grant (talk • contribs) 12:47, 26 April 2007

In reply to your despairing plea - The Controversy section of the article has many sources for the incest allegations including info on the tapes from her therapy sessions and the Middlebrook biography. The family deny the allegations and the controversy continues but Sexton's own testimony is well documented. All the references are given. Spanglej (talk) 16:23, 17 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Well, RE: "the family deny the allegations", not all of them do. I wonder if Linda's sister Joy went on record? Codenamemary (talk) 22:51, 28 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Need clarification/correction on mental illness[edit]

Quote: "Sexton spoke candidly about her battle with bipolar disorder, SIDS, which she fought for most of her life."

First off, SIDS is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which I doubt applies here. Second, SID (no S) is Sensory Integration Dysfunction, which Sexton could have suffered from, but it is not a mental illness and not related to bipolar disorder. I didn't want to just strip the SIDS part out without knowing exactly what was meant here. Can someone with more knowledge on the subject please correct? PacificBoy 04:54, 3 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. Cluster B personality disorder, either Histrionic or Borderline, I'd guess. 68.83.72.162 (talk) 04:38, 10 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, both SIDs and bipolar disorder are questionable. I've read her letters and biography, and no where do these diagnoses appear. Dr. Martin Orne, if I remember correctly, diagnosed Anne with "hysteria." Also, from what I've read, even if this diagnosis could be proved (which I doubt), she has had no recorded "manic episodes." In fact, she was first hospitalized after attempting suicide, which, quite frankly, is THE EXACT OPPOSITE of "mania." IMO, Anne most likely suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, which is often very similiar to bipolar disorder, exact that the ups and downs are more extreme and last for very short intervals of time. For example, a typical bipolar manic or depressive episode would last a week or more. With BPD, these can last anywhere from several days to a few hours. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.175.193.158 (talk) 01:51, 11 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Note that "hysteria" can also be Histrionic Personality Disorder, which is closely related to BPD. 68.83.72.162 (talk) 04:35, 10 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Bipolar disorder didn't exist as a disagnosis until recently. She certainly could not have "spoken candidly" about it her battle with it in those terms Spanglej (talk) 22:12, 16 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. Don't turn her into a celebrity on a talk show leading through example. 178.38.157.11 (talk) 22:09, 10 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Current photo[edit]

This is kinda silly, but who here thinks the current photo makes her look like Ellen Degeneres? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.139.79.47 (talk) 12:15, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ohio Portal?[edit]

Why is this part of Wikipedia's Ohio portal? Does Sexton's publisher Houghton Mifflin have offices in Toledo? Anne Sexton lived her whole life in Massachusetts.70.114.39.22 (talk) 01:36, 9 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's now listed as a Massachusetts portal Spanglej (talk) 16:26, 17 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Elopement? Marriage? Extended family?[edit]

The article makes only oblique reference to Sexton's husband. Her change of surname remains quite unexplained until we get to "Subsequent Controversy" and we hear about "her physical altercations with her husband". According to the "Anne Sexton Chronology" at http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/sexton/chrono.htm she "eloped with Alfred Muller Sexton II ("Kayo")" on August 16 1948 - this has to qualify as a significant life event even for someone who was not emotionally fragile. And who was George E. Sexton, with whom she is buried? Likewise, Joan S. Palmer? Moletrouser (talk) 20:02, 19 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

George E. Sexton-her father in law who I believe died in a car accident in 1960, Joan S. Palmer-Joan Sexton[?] Palmer, her sister-in-law who died in a car accident on her honeymoon in 1967.24.167.105.97 (talk) 04:23, 21 February 2009 (UTC) Oops, sorry, Joan S. Palmer died in 1969, according to the picture I should've looked at on this page and Middlebrook's biography.24.167.105.97 (talk) 20:23, 22 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Lots more early life and family history is not doubt welcome. Please add it in with refs if you have the facts. Spanglej (talk) 16:27, 17 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Anne Sexton had a lot of things that really helped her in writing. Even though she had a hard life. She still managed to bring light to it. She managed to meet people who also would become famous for writing. She had won Pulitzer Prize in 1967 for Live or Die.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the manic elements of Sexton's illness began to affect her career. She won Audience magazine's annual poetry prize in 1959 Poetry magazine's Levinson Prize in 1962 National Book Award nomination for All My Pretty Ones in 1963. American Academy of Arts and Letters' traveling fellowship.Ford Foundation grant in 1963.Shelley Memorial Prize for Live or die in 1967. Pulitzer Prize in poetry for Live or Die in 1967.Guggenheim Foundation grant in 1969.Tufts University's Doctor of Letters 1970. Lastly Crashaw Chair in Literature from Colgate University 1972. She also went to the hospital and read her poems.

Sexton was never afraid to write about anything. She wrote about sex, Maturation, Love Suicide Death Murder, Menstruation. She would right about anything that people where afraid of writing about. She used a lot of Metaphors. She used a lot of what happened in her life and based it on what she wrote about. She never murdered anyone but, she always fantasized about death, So you can assume that is where it came from. She wasn't afraid of what people thought. She broke barriers on what was ok to write about. Back in the 1960's writing about Suicide and Death was looked down upon. Sexton Helped to get the topics out there so they were talked about more. Sexton She had brought a new voice to poetry. Sexton Also had attempted suicide once before succeeding. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.152.117.137 (talk) 05:26, 2 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment[edit]

I have downgraded the assessment from B to C. The B was given in 2007 as "scrapes in as B because the basic framework is there and with references would be a nice article". Reasons for downgrade:

  • Inadequate lead paragraph
  • Choppy, disconnected prose (at times repetitious) with inadequate paragraph structure
  • Superficial discussion of the themes in her poetry
  • Even more superficial discussion of her early life and family, There is no clear biographical narrative.

See also: Assessment- Voceditenore (talk) 07:12, 12 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Abuse by mother (Mary Harvey)[edit]

Under "Controversies", << However during the writing of Sexton's biography, Sexton's daughter, Linda Gray Sexton alleged to the book's author that Anne had been sexually assaulted by her mother.[17] >> appears. As I recall, the abuse involved memories of her father drunkenly touching her as a teen, and also long, semi-sensual cuddling sessions with "Nana" (her grandmother, or aunt?) I don't remember allegations against Anne's mother Mary, but I could be wrong. Codenamemary (talk) 23:01, 28 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'd check the references given in the article. If you think there is more information to add and you have solid third party sources - add it. Best wishes Spanglej (talk) 01:23, 4 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Linda's book alleges Anne sexually abused her daughter. The image of Anne's father drunkenly touching Anne was according to Linda's book a story that Anne herself freely admitted might not have occured i.e. was an invented memory.

If you think there is more information to add and you have solid third party sources - please add it. Best wishes Spanglej (talk) 21:54, 16 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Another Wikipedia whitewash[edit]

Anne Sexton sexually abused her daughter Linda. Why the article continues to be reverted to cover up such widely discussed and well-publicized allegations (which sound pretty damn true to me) is beyond me, but it once again illustrates how one or two editors with an agenda can, through sheer persistence, destroy an entry. I love Anne Sexton's work, but I don't need a sanitized version of her life. She was a great talent and, apparently, a monstrous parent. We have no special reason to doubt Linda Gray Sexton, and we have an obligation to take her claims at least somewhat seriously. Wbroun (talk) 13:45, 3 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It Seems extensively discussed with references in this section. Not quite sure what whitewashing you are referring to. Best wishes Spanglej (talk) 01:20, 4 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Quote[edit]

There's a sentence in here that needs to be attributed because it sounds just like and is sequenced just like M. Kumin's foreword to Sexton's poetry. Kumin's sentence is: "She wrote openly about menstruation, abortion, masturbation, incest, adultery, and drug addiction at a time when the proprieties embraced none of these as proper topics for poetry." Compare to section here about her themes and it's too similar. I would add the citation but it has been so long that I'm very rusty with wikipedia and don't want to mess it up. Kajuble (talk) 17:00, 24 March 2013 (UTC)Kajuble[reply]

Source added. Span (talk) 01:41, 26 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Pulitzer Prize[edit]

I could have sworn she won the prize for her collection "Transformations", the edition I have says so. I'm not sure if it means that it was authored by a Pulitzer Prize WINNER, but I could have sworn it meant she won it for that book itself. --Matt723star (talk) 14:51, 18 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Pulitzer website says she won it for Live or Die in 1967. Book blurbs often bang on about 'Pulitzer winners', meaning they have won the prize at some point, not necessary for the book the blurb is on. It can indeed be confusing. Span (talk) 14:59, 18 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Yes I just looked at my book again, and it says "winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry" so you can understand why I was confused. --Matt723star (talk) 19:00, 21 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Not a single line[edit]

An article about a poet without citing a single line of her poetry. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.97.52.95 (talk) 02:31, 9 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Subsequent controversy[edit]

What does this sentence mean?: "During this process, he allegedly used suggestion to uncover memories of inflicting [sic] childhood sexual abuse." Her childhood? Her daughter's? Shouldn't it be, "During this process, he allegedly used suggestion to uncover memories of childhood sexual abuse."? Autodidact1 (talk) 23:24, 22 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It was a bit unclear, I suspect, because it's a complicated story. Orne supposedly uncovered memories in Anne Sexton of being abused as a child. Anne Sexton's daughter Linda (separately) later wrote about being abused by her mother, Anne. I have edited the section a little and added a linked ref. 20:27, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

Another play?[edit]

According to Stephen Colburn's Anne Sexton: Telling the Tale (Univ of Michigan Press, 1988, p. 3), Sexton wrote a play called "Tell Me Your Answer True" in 1964. It doesn't seem to be mentioned on this page. Does anyone know whether it was renamed later, or whether it should be added?

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Access to Sexton's poetry[edit]

How can I read the poems? DEFFODIL'1995 (talk) 15:04, 7 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hello DEFFODIL'1995. For copyright reasons we cannot publish her poems on Wikipedia. However, several of her poems are available for reading at the Poetry Foundation website here. Voceditenore (talk) 15:40, 7 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]
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