We rented a house on the top of a crest in the Shenandoahs to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents. We had sunset views from the front balcony, a hot tub in the back and an ever hopeful feeling we might see black bears drink from the pond out front (or at least tear into the hot tub for a midnight swim).

By the way, the bears had been tearing through the hot tub cover to get into the water, so an electric fence had been erected since our last stay. I saw the claw marks on the tub; they were large. Very large. (The owner’s son told us that hot tub covers cost $500. If you are thinking about what business to go into…you probably can’t go wrong with selling vinyl and foam to hot tub owners for $500.)

While in Front Royal, VA, I happened across a used book store. I was intrigued by shelf after shelf of poetry. I had not seen such a good used bookstore since I visited Charlottesville, VA for the Virginia Festival of the Book.

Several books caught my attention and the one I purchased was the Diane Middlebrook Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes book. I’m not impressed thus far. What I’ve learned is that Plath bit Hughes’s cheek upon their first meeting. Also (and impressively) she memorized several of his poems before attending a party where she knew he might be. She shouted them out at the party. I’m not done with the book, so I will reserve final judgment. However, what I’ve read reminds me of People Magazine rather than a book about the lives of two major poets.