Anne Sexton

Because I'm a nut and I need something else to keep me busy, I've been considering taking up another project.

One of my favorite poets is Anne Sexton. I don't think I've written much about her but she's certainly been an influence on my work and works of the contemporary poets I seem to gravitate to. I've always thought her life would make an interesting screenplay, more than anything I've ever seen on Sylvia Plath or Elizabeth Bishop.

Sexton became a mainstay on the New England poetry scene, but really caused the literary community, as a whole, to take notice in the 60s and 70s. As a result, I think "confessional poetry" had to be taken seriously because her work, as well as the works of Robert Lowell, Plath, and Bishop was so unflinching.

But Sexton was such a tragic figure, suffering through postpartum depression, stints in mental institutions, and alcoholism. Her misdeeds got in the way of her legacy, I think, but her voice lives on in so many women poets today. I feel like I could give her story voice. But I've never taken on a project like this, and I've never, ever written a screenplay.

A project like this makes me nervous. I mean, this is a real test of my abilities. How long does it take to write a screenplay? If I do this, I think I'll work on it from September to April. That should be enough time to get through the summer, compile research, and write the darn thing. What if I can't do it? Or worse, what if it sucks? Well, I'm only accountable to me, right?

Again, I don't think I'll start this craziness until the fall. But I'm curious, have you ever taken on a creative project that terrified you?