Sylvia Plath: Reading a Confessional Poet, Feminist Writer, and Influential Figure

Plath cover

by Taylor Follett

Saturday, October 27th marks the anniversary of Sylvia Plath‘s birth. Plath’s reputation as of the most fascinating and tragic women writers of the 20th century is well-known, as is the work which won her literary respect and a posthumous Pulitzer prize in 1982. Plath was a major figure of the confessional poetry movement and often hailed as an important feminist writer. The anniversary of Plath’s birth provides the perfect reason to crack open a copy of The Bell Jar, or perhaps remark on the wonder of “Lady Lazarus.”

Continue reading “Sylvia Plath: Reading a Confessional Poet, Feminist Writer, and Influential Figure”


New Books in Literature for October

As fall approaches and the weather begins to cool down, it’s the perfect time of year to curl up with a slice of pumpkin pie and a good book. Where better to find your next read than the library literature collection? The books we recently received have something for everyone—whether you’re looking for poetry, prose, or criticism.

Check out the rest of the new acquisitions!

Want a book that we don’t have in the library? Request it here.



Literature for Hispanic Heritage Month

celebrating hispanic heritage month cover photoby Taylor Follett

September 15 marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, a month-long celebration of Latinx histories and cultures. Today we’re looking at the rich diversity of Latinx titles available at the Library. (You can find national information about Hispanic Heritage Month here and events at and around UC Berkeley here.)

One rich resource for Latinx literature is the Latino Literature digital collection, which has thousands of digitized, full-text novels, poems, and plays written by over 400 authors in English and Spanish. Organized by both author and genre, the Latino Literature archive has at least 800 items that are not published anywhere else, making it a wonderful online resource for anybody interested in research—or just in reading.

If you’re looking for recently published novels, try:

More interested in lyricism and poetic prowess? Recent poetry collections will not disappoint:

Don’t overlook one of the most inventive genres when looking for books to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Young adult fiction has some truly wonderful picks:

Latinx memoir is another incredibly rich genre:

Happy reading, and don’t forget to check out both the Latino Literature database and UC Berkeley’s events for Hispanic Heritage Month!



April Is National Poetry Month!

in celebration of national poetry month

With April comes all that it’s associated with—springtime, new growth, and fittingly, National Poetry Month. Established in 1996, National Poetry Month is just what it says on the tin: an opportunity to discuss, celebrate, and most importantly, read poetry. This is the perfect chance to read some of the new and wonderful poetry that the past several years has had to offer!

We might only be four months into 2018, but there have already been some phenomenal poetry collections:

Continue reading “April Is National Poetry Month!”


New Books in Literature

With every new month comes new books being published—and added to our library collection! This month’s haul includes criticism, poetry, prose, and much more:

See the full list of new acquisitions here, and keep an eye on the English Library Guide for more featured new books.

Want to see a book that we don’t have? Request it here!


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