Connie Ann Kirk

The J.K. Rowling Encyclopedia is a good encyclopedia or reference for Harry Potter fans. Each entry is detailed and organized. Kirk did a lot of extraneous research, especially with the broad topics such as alchemy and Jane Austen. The only knock on the book is that it was published pre- Deathly Hallows, so all of the information we learned in that book and in subsequent interviews has been left out. I was astounded at the 4-page bibliography, which I used to find other Harry Potter-related books to read.… (meer)

Connie Ann Kirk's 2004, Sylvia Plath: A Biography, was recently reissued by Prometheus Books. Unlike it's first appearance, this title is available at bookstores, making it one of the few introductory biographies available to a more commercial market (the 2004 Greenwood biography series edition being primarily a 'library' book).

On the back of the book, in big letters is "The blood jet is poetry and there is no stopping it." Those who know "Kindness" quite well will notice the addition of "and", which is not in the poem. This is sloppy. The blurb on the back of the book claims that by the time Plath died, she left behind a "popular novel, The Bell Jar", but we know this wasn't the case.

There is an over reliance on other biographies, and throughout the work, Plath and Hughes and the other players are referred to by their first names, as "Sylvia," "Ted," etc. Addressing Plath and the others in the familiar actually made it more difficult to read. The tone throughout was off, and I kept thinking I was reading something by Marcia Brown Stern, Jillian Becker or Elizabeth Sigmund, i.e. people that knew Plath and can get away with addressing the subject as such. There are also contradictions between the chronology in the front of the book and in the text. Etc. etc.

While the main facts are there, several errors from the first edition were not corrected in this new edition, frustrating this reviewer. Rather than list everything as I did with the errors contained in Bowman and Hurdle, I'll spare you the bitchy details of what's wrong with this book. When an author such as Kirk, a serial biographer, approaches a life like Sylvia Plath's, it is almost excusable to make mistakes. But, it is also quite inexcusable. The biographer must be painstakingly dedicated to getting the facts of their subject correct. Especially in an introductory work where their words may be responsible for intriguing and education a future fan or scholar. While this isn't the greatest introduction to Plath (and there are betters one's out there; and yes, as you might imagine, naturally my bias leans towards my own little biography of Plath), it is better than some of the fuller length treatments of Plath's life. The book itself is a handsome production.… (meer)