Heather Clark is the author of Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, a 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist now out in paperback from Knopf. She and Courtney discuss how biography is like archeology, the "hysterical woman writer" stereotype, and the "profound and bottomless optimism" needed to undertake a large writing project.

In the bonus segment, Heather talks about finding joy in the writing process and how the joy she found writing Red Comet influenced the book's structure. Bonus segments are available to Patreon subscribers at patreon.com/wmfapodcast.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices