The Colossus and Other Poems

The Colossus and Other Poems is a poetry collection by American poet Sylvia Plath, first published by William Heinemann, in 1960. It is the only volume of poetry by Plath that was published before her death in 1963.

The 44 poems presented here are in the published order. It should be noted, however, that the below list contains the poems published in the US version of the collection, which omits several poems from the original UK edition, including most of the seven sections of "Poem for a Birthday", only two of which ("Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" and "The Stones") are included in the US edition.

Prominent journalist, poet and literary critic for The Observer newspaper, Al Alvarez, called the posthumous re-release of the book, after the success of Ariel, a "major literary event" and wrote of Plath's work:

"She steers clear of feminine charm, deliciousness, gentility, supersensitivity and the act of being a 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."

Seamus Heaney said of The Colossus: "On every page, a poet is serving notice that she has earned her credentials and knows her trade."

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