"I am 3/4ths Canadian, and one 4th New Englander - I had ancestors on both sides in the Revolutionary war." - Elizabeth Bishop
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia AGM and 20th Anniversary Celebration, 14 June 2014

It is hard to believe that the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia is 20 years old. A party is in order to mark this milestone. On 14 June 2014 in Great Village join the EBSNS for this celebration. A big cake, some wonderful music and a bit of patting ourselves on the back. Hope to see you there!


Friday, May 16, 2014

Elizabeth Bishop: Nova Scotia's "Home-Made" Poet -- Anniversary of publication

On 14 May 2011, I launched Elizabeth Bishop: Nova Scotia's "Home-Made" Poet, published by Nimbus Publishing in Halifax, during the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary celebrations. It is hard to believe three years have passed. I don't usually blow my own horn, but I was reflecting on how quickly time passes and thought I'd mark this anniversary with a post. I still think this little book is a good introduction to our beloved poet. I tell people that I would buy it just for the photographs! I am happy and grateful to say that Nimbus still has this book on their backlist, so if you are interested in getting a copy, you can go to their website:
http://www.nimbus.ca/Elizabeth-Bishop-P5013.aspx


Below is a glimpse of the launch we had at the Elizabeth Bishop House on 14 May 2011. I have such warm memories of this event and the launch in Halifax, N.S., and want to thank everyone who came out way back then to support this project. And a thank you to Nimbus for continuing to make this publication available.



Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Elizabeth Bishop Conference to be held in Sheffield, England, in 2015

Bishop scholar Jonathan Ellis has just let us know that there will be an international conference next year in Sheffield, England. The conference is marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of Bishop's award-winning collection Questions of Travel: "Elizabeth Bishop's Questions of Travel: 50 Years Later," 25-27 June 2015.

Check out the conference site and the call for papers at: http://elizabethbishopat50.wordpress.com/

An impressive line-up of keynote speakers is already in place. As the first major conference since the Elizabeth Bishop symposium at the University of King's College in Halifax, N.S., in 2011 (which was about "home"), it will surely draw many veteran and new Bishop scholars.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Anneke Stroink has a keen interest in Elizabeth Bishop

Grade Four student Anneke Stroink presented her Heritage Project about Elizabeth Bishop at the LeMarchant St. Thomas School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 25 April 2014. Her project placed third, which meant that it advanced to the regional presentations on 8 May. Anneke’s project won first prize at this level and she has advanced to provincials, which will take place soon at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. Anneke portrayed Elizabeth Bishop in two short films by John Scott (Magpie Productions). Both films were based on Bishop poems: “First Death in Nova Scotia” and “In the Waiting Room,” and were screened at the Atlantic Film Festival in 2011 and 2013 respectively.


Friday, May 2, 2014

Elizabeth Bishop wins a strange competition!

I have just been alerted to an interesting and strange competition connected to Poetry Month (April), just now over. Check it out at the link below. I wonder what any of the women poets involved would have thought! But it is nice to see Elizabeth Bishop has such presence to go the distance with such an extraordinary pantheon.

http://www.powells.com/poetrymadness?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=PBP&utm_content=POETRYMADNESS+2014-05-01

On an entirely different note -- stay tuned for an announcement about the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia Annual General Meeting, happening on 14 June 2014, in Great Villlage, N.S. The EBSNS marks its 20th anniversary this year, so we're having a party!