"I am 3/4ths Canadian, and one 4th New Englander - I had ancestors on both sides in the Revolutionary war." - Elizabeth Bishop
____________________________________________

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

WELCOME!

"It is a great relief to know where you are again," Elizabeth Bishop once wrote to Robert Lowell, "I think I have been wondering for over a year now... Now I am rereading your letter. You say Randall seems to be suffering about turning fifty. Isn't it funny? -- That makes three poets I know who are all busy commenting on this. I did attempt something about being forty-five once, and my eyebrows getting rather bald, but it didn't turn out well and thank heavens I've never wanted to try the subject of one's years again."

Robert Giroux (ed.), Elizabeth Bishop. One Art. Selected letters.
New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux. 1994, p. 428.



In light of the above passage, it is with a certain amount of diffidence that we draw attention to the approaching hundredth anniversary of the birth of Elizabeth Bishop. Here in Nova Scotia, Bishop's childhood home, plans are now underway for a year-long celebration. This blog has been created to provide a clearing house for information about the many activities that will be taking place in Great Village, in Halifax, and throughout the province. We'll be posting weekly updates, along with materials on many different aspects of Bishop's life and work, and useful links to other Bishop resources on the internet and elsewhere. Please join us in marking the centenary of this remarkable poet.