Like Crossing the Water, the book Winter Trees, appears quite differently on either side of the Atlantic. Faber published Winter Trees on 27 September 1971; Harper & Row published it 51 weeks later, on 20 September 1972. I suspect these books appeared in 1971 to coincide with the American publication of The Bell Jar.

The British edition book consists of poems left out of Ariel, either by Plath's original order or by Hughes's editing. The American edition features some poems left out of its version of Crossing the Water. Nonetheless, Plath wrote all the poems in 1962 or 1963.

If one compares Plath's own ordered Ariel (see Ariel: The restored edition) with these volumes, one will see exactly what a volume of "late" poems should have looked like.

The inclusion of Plath's verse play "Three Women: A poem for three voices" makes this book much fuller, and gives the reader an opportunity to see Plath's range of voices and styles. Plath took motherhood very seriously as "Three Women", "By Candlelight", "Child", "Childless Woman", and "For a Fatherless Son" illustrates.

The Faber edition of Winter Trees contains the following poems: Winter Trees, Child, Brasilia, Gigilo, Childless Woman, Purdah, The Courage of Shutting-up, The Other, Stopped Dead, The Rabbit Catcher, Mystic, By Candlelight, Lyonnesse, Thalidomide, For a Fatherless Son, Lesbos, The Swarm, Mary's Song, and Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices.

The Harper edition prints many of the poems not in the Harper Crossing the Water. This is an attempt to even out the book and bring the American audience more up to date with Plath's later poetry. As with Crossing the Water, the Faber edition, though slight at only 19 poems, is the better volume. The Faber blue paperback which features a drawing of trees beside a walking path, is likely inspired by Primrose Hill.

Poems copyrighted to Faber & Faber (UK) & HarperCollins (US).

A selection of reviews of Winter Trees
Alvarez, A. "Publish and Be Damned." Observer. October 3, 1971: 36.

Banks, Nancy. "Sylvia Plath's sad Fury." Chicago Daily News. November 4, 1972: 8.

Baumgaertner, Jill. "Four Poets: Blood Type New." Cresset. April 1973: 16-9.

Brett, Abigail. "On Poetry and Poets, and Other Peculiar Things." Houston Chronicle. October 29, 1972: 14.

Brownjohn, Alan. "Awesome Fragments." New Statesman. October 1, 1971: 446-8.

Cotter, James Finn. "Women poets; malign Neglect?" America. February 17, 1973: 140-2.

Ditsky, John. Southern Humanities Review. Winter 1974: 115-6.

Duke, Maurice. "Sylvia Plath's 'Winter Trees' Will Not Change Readers' Views'." Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 1, 1972: F-5.

Dunn, Douglas. "King Offa Alive and Dead: Ten Poets." Encounter. January 1972: 67.

Filiatreau, John. "Sylvia Plath's Last Poems." Courier-Journal. November 5, 1972: E-7.

Gordon, Jan B. "Saint Sylvia." Modern Poetry Studies. 1972: 282-6.

Grant, Damian. "Winter Trees." Critical Quarterly. Spring 1972: 92-5.

Homberger, Eric. "The Uncollected Plath." New Statesman. September 22, 1971: 404-5.

Howes, Victor. "Sometimes, a Walker of Air." Christian Science Monitor. October 4, 1972: 11.

Hughes, Ted. Poetry Book Society Bulletin. Autumn 1971.

Jacobson, Dan. "Mirrors Can Kill: Dan Jacobson Considers the Artistic Martyrdom of Sylvia Plath." Listener. October 7, 1971: 482.

Jennings, Elizabeth. "Poetry Selection." Daily Telegraph. October 28, 1971: 9.

Kameen, Paul. Best Sellers. January 15, 1973: 474-5.

Kertesz, Louise. "More Plath poems." Daily Hampshire Gazette. September 16, 1972: 6.

Leib, Mark E. "Into the Maelstrom." Harvard Advocate. Winter 1973: 45-7.

Library Journal. November 1, 1972: 3595.

Melander, Ingrid. Moderna Spräk. 1971: 360-3.

Murray, Michele. "Okay, Sylvia Plath Was Good, But Not That Good." National Observer. September 30, 1971: 12.

New York Times Book Review. December 3, 1972: 84.

Nye, Robert. "A Bright pane broken." The Times of London. 1971: 12.

Oates, Joyce Carol. "Winter Trees." Library Journal. November 1, 1972: 1744.

Oates, Joyce Carol. "One for life, one for death." The New York Times Book Review. November 19, 1972: 7, 14.

Perlman, Anne S. "Some More Sylvia Plath Poems." San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle. October 1, 1972: 35.

Peterson, Helen R. "Poetry Reveals Melancholia of its Author." Albuquerque Journal. October 15, 1972: C-6.

Pevear, Richard. Hudson Review. Spring 1973: 192-218.

Pratt, Linda Ray. "The Spirit of Blackness is in us." Prairie Schooner. Spring 1973: 87-90.

Saturday Review. October 28, 1972: 83.

Schott, Webster. "The Cult of Plath." Washington Post. October 1, 1972: 3.

Schott, Webster. "Flowers of Madness, Death." San Francisco Examiner. Octber 13, 1972: 39.

Scruton, Roger. "Sylvia Plath and the Savage God." Spectator. December 18, 1971: 890.

Sergeant, Howard. English. Summer 1972: 75-7.

Shroyer, Frederick. "Moody, Rich Last Poems of Tragic Sylvia Plath." Los Angeles Herald Examiner. October 1, 1972: E-7.

Smith, Raymond. "Late Harvest." Modern Poetry Studies. 1972: 91-3.

Storey, Elizabeth. Library Journal. January 15, 1973: 276.

Suk, Julie. "Latest Poems give Us Some of Plath's Best - and Worst." Charlotte Observer. October 8, 1972: F-5.

Wallace, Robert. Book-of-the-Month Club News. November 1972: 7.

Whelan, Gloria. "Last Poems of a Dying Poet." Detroit Free Press. September 24, 1972: C-19.

"A World in Disintegration." Times Literary Supplement. December 24, 1971: 1602.

Zavitz, Dwight L., Jr. "Tormented Spirit Found in Poetry." News-Sentinel. December 9, 1972: 3.