Hedda Bolgar Lecture Series
Judith Harris, PhD
(Washington, DC)
Sylvia Plath’s Mock and Self-Elegies: A Kleinian Reading of her “Edge"
Friday January 16, 2026
7-9pm (CST)
Zoom
About the Presentation: This presentation delves into Sylvia Plath’s background, followed by a close reading of her final poem, “Edge,” through the framework of a Kleinian model regarding extreme early conflicts. These conflicts in Plath’s character were likely the tensions that gave rise to her iconic genius; however, the chronicity of her depression suggests a melancholic turn and even a persecutory complex. Plath’s confusion of boundaries between her mother, Aurelia Plath, and herself culminated with her final poem “Edge.” The poem, written right before her suicide, exhibits her suicidal fantasies as well as an immersive experience in a death-like state, voicing the perfection of death through a fusing of the “demon mother” and herself.
Judith Harris has taught extensively at universities in Washington D.C. She has been an Assistant Professor at George Washington University, an Associate Lecturer at Catholic University of America and American University. She is the author of three books of poetry (LSU Press) and her second book, The Bad Secret was submitted by LSU for the Pulitzer Prize. She is the author of many articles on psychoanalysis and the creative process, as well as the author of two critical books, Signifying Pain: Constructing and Healing the Self through Writing (SUNY Press) and The Poetry of Loss: Romantic and Contemporary Elegies.
Learning Objectives:
-Participants will be able to identify a psychoanalytic theory that comports with an art/literary work using both autobiographic materials and close readings of texts, and be enlightened as to how unconscious material is fundamentally inscribed on creative works.
-Participants will also be introduced to the surprising fact that some of our greatest American poets in the 1950’s-1960’s (Plath, Lowell, Sexton, and Berryman) deliberately incorporated their own psychoanalysis, often when inpatients in asylums, into their confessional poetry and how this reflects the post-WW2 movements in American culture and political history.
This presentation is for all levels of professional experience.
Fees
CCP members: free with annual $195 membership, payable at registration.
Students:free with annual $175 membership, payable at registration.
New Fellows / Ongoing: free with annual $250/$300 membership, payable at registration.
Non-CCP members, single admission: $50
Continuing Education
This program is sponsored for Continuing Education Credits by the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. There is no commercial support for this program, nor are there any relationships between the continuing education sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants or other funding that could be construed as conflicts of interest. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If the program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods. The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CCP is licensed by the state of Illinois to sponsor continuing education credits for Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Counselors and Licensed Clinical Psychologists (license no. 159.000941 and 268.000020 and 168.000238 Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation).
Professionals holding the aforementioned credentials will receive 2.0 continuing education credits for attending the entire program. To receive these credits a completed evaluation form must be turned in at the end of the presentation and licensed psychologists must first complete a brief exam on the subject matter. No continuing education credit will be given for attending part of the presentation. Refunds for CE credit after the program begins will not be honored. If a participant has special needs or concerns about the program, s/he/they should contact Toula Kourliouros Kalven by January 15, 2026 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org
References/Suggested Readings
Schober Plath, A. (1975). Letters home. Harper & Row Publisher.
Klein, M. (1957). Writings of Melanie Klein 1946-1963. Free Press.
Komura, T. (2011). Poetry of lost loss: A study of the modern anti-consolatory elegy
Ramazani, J. (1994). The poetry of mourning: The modern elegy from Hardy to Heaney. University of Chicago Press.
Clark, H. (2020). The short life and blazing art of Sylvia Plath. Vintage Books.
Presented by
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis/CCP Program Committee: Zak Mucha, LCSW, Alan Levy, PhD, Toula Kourliouros Kalven.
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis is an IRS 501(C)(3) charitable organization, and expenses may be tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and your personal tax situation.