The Colossus was Sylvia Plath’s first published volume of poetry. ‘She steers clear of feminine charm, deliciousness, gentility, super sensitivity and the act of being poetess. She simply writes good poetry. And she does so with a seriousness that demands only that she be judged equally seriously … There is an admirable no-nonsense air about this; the language is bare but vivid and precise, with a concentration that implies a good deal of disturbance with proportionately little fuss.’ A. Alvarez in the Observer