Elizabeth Bishop dedicated her poetry to telling “what really happened.” Yet what really happened in the life on one of the twentieth century's finest and most beloved American poets has eluded readers for years. In this first full biography, Brett Miller pieces together the compelling and painful story of Bishop's life and traces the writing of her brilliantly crafted poems.
Elizabeth Bishop Life and the Memory of It
About the Book
Table of Contents
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I
THE SCREAM
1911-I930
2
"THE HIGHER TYPES"
1930-1934
3
THE U.S.A. SCHOOL OF WRITING
1934-1935
4
"EVERYTHING CONNECTED ONLY BY
'AND' AND 'AND'"
1935-1936
5
PITY SUCH SORROW
1937
6
"WELL, WE HAVE COME THIS FAR."
1938-1940
7
NORTH & SOUTH
1941-1946
8
"PLOUGHING THROUGH LIFE ALONE"
1947-1949
9
THE INDRAWN YES
1949-1951
IO
BRAZIL
1951-1952
II
"A DELUXE NOVA SCOTIA"
1952-1956
12
"SOBRIETY & GAYETY & PATIENCE & TOUGHNESS"
1956-1960
I3
AT WHAT ... COST
IN NERVOUS ENERGY?
1961-1963
14
"THERE IS NO RAILROAD NAMED DELIGHT."
1964-1965
15
THE ART OF LOSING
1966-1967
16
A TOTALLY WASTED STRETCH
1968-1970
I7
CRUSOE IN ENGLAND
1970-1971
18
"HALF GROAN, HALF ACCEPTANCE"
1972
19
ON THE WAY BACK
1973-1976
20
NORTH HAVEN
1977-1979
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
Illustrations