My chapter ‘Dreaming in Plastic: Branding, Iconography, and the Evolving Domesticity of Barbie’s Dreamhouse from the Kitchen Debate to Barbie (2023)’ is now available in the edited collection The Barbie Phenomenon, Volume 2, published by Routledge: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003611523-4 If anyone doesn’t have access to this book but would like to read my chapter, please get in touch with me at…

on 11th October, I will be leading a discussion on The Bell Jar for the Alumni Book Club of the English Literature Programme at the University of Groningen: On 1st November, I will continue my online Taylor seminars, this time about a Halloween-themed topic of witchcraft in Taylor Swift’s music. Register here: Register on Eventbrite On 3rd November, I am hosting with the Plath Society a book…

Register on Eventbrite After the release of TTPD, in this session, we are going to dive into the literary influences and parallels between Sylvia Plath and Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. Why does Swift allude to tortured poets like Plath? Should we read her songs as poems? Does dark academia influence the album concept? How does Swift employ female artists in American literature…

This online seminar series invites fans, enthusiasts, scholars, and curious minds alike to explore the fascinating parallels between the iconic poet Sylvia Plath and the chart-topping artist Taylor Swift. Throughout the weekly sessions (six in total), the seminars will discuss the various topics from girlhood, and Americana, to rebirth in their works and uncover the metaphors and shared emotional…

My article on Sylvia Plath, Hungary, and the Iron Curtain is out now. It was published as part a special issue by the French journal E-Rea: “The ‘Edge’ of Sylvia Plath’s Critical History: A Reappraisal of Plath’s Work, 60 years after“. You can find the article here and the abstract below: This article looks at the under-researched topic broadly defined as Sylvia Plath’s relationship with Europe…

Due to my research and personal interests, and internet demand, I am going to offer an online seminar series from 2024 on the shared themes and writing styles in the poetry and songs of Taylor Swift and Sylvia Plath. Although recently several universities announced that they will have English undegraduate modules on Swift that explore her lyrics in relation to the canon, my seminars will offer…

Since her sixth studio album Reputation (2017), Taylor Swift referenced various times to witches and the witch-hunt(s) in her songs, music videos, and stage performances. More recently, during the performance of “willow” from the Eras Tour gained some needless traction from a few Christians accusing Swift of performing witchcraft on stage. While these accusations are mildly amusing, they bring…

Spring has been busy research-wise.I’ve shared in my blog a video recording of my presentation “This is what we were after, the hair colour of sea witch”: Aquatic Surfaces and Female Power in Assia Wevill’s ‘Lost Island’ advert (1965) that I presented at the annual Haunted Shores conference (7-8 April 2023). On 12-14 April 2023, I participated at the BAAS annual conference, on a panel on Sylvia…

You can watch now a video recording of my presentation on Assia Wevill’s Lost Island advert, James Bond, and sea witches that I presented on the Aquatic Surfaces and Depths: Haunted Shores 2023 online conference:

On the 9th of January, I was honoured to talk about my research in front of an international audience, discussing Sylvia Plath and the Psychoanalysis of Fairy Tales. Many thanks to the organisers Fuhito Endo and Kazuki Inoue and The University of Tokyo for hosting me. At the moment, I have three conference presentations in line for 2023: I’m forming an incredible panel with my friends Kitty Shaw…

Case by case: Open research in different disciplines