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

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Another lovely Elizabeth Bishop birthday party

Even though Nova Scotia was hit by an old-fashioned nor'easter winter storm, and snow was piled high on the sides of the streets, almost twenty Bishop fans braved the snow-covered roads and ventured to the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia this afternoon, Sunday, 10 February 2013, to celebrate Elizabeth Bishop's birthday (two days after the actual date, 8 Feb.), but since it is also Chinese New Year, we thought the 10th would be fine. We had the usual wonderful group of readers: novelist Valerie Compton, poet Mary Ellen Sullivan, retired professor Scott MacDougall, Russian professor John Barnstead, poet and novelist Jill MacLean, novelist Heather Jessup, translator Betty Bednarski, and yours truly. The readings were lovely and inspiring and the highlight of the afternoon. There was birthday cake and door prizes and good conversation. Hopefully, Bishop was pleased with this honouring of her, her words and her connection to Nova Scotia. Here are a few photos taken by novelist and volunteer extraordinaire Susan Kerslake. I would like to thank all those who attended for their warm good will and wonderful support of the Elizabeth Bishop House.

 The Audience

The readers: (l. to r.) Valerie, Jill, Mary Ellen, Betty, Sandra, John, Heather, Scott

 The Cake

The Toast

The Door Prizes

The Podium

Cutting the Cake

No comments:

Post a Comment