At Government House to Celebrate the Finalists for the Lieutenant Governor's Masterworks Arts Award

Left to right: John Plant, Jocelyne Fleury, 
Suzie LeBlanc, Sandra Barry

Another update about the EB House is necessary

I thought that the EB House update I posted on 16 November 2014 would be the last for this year, but life being life, developments happen and I want to share a couple of things that have occurred just today. Before I go further, I want to reiterate, THE EB HOUSE IS JUST FINE. And I want to thank the friends of the EB House who came to its defense yesterday, and posted comments on Facebook, assuring that all is well at this dear old place.

The first development to relate is that the work on Highway 2 in front of the Wilson's gas stop and the EB House has begun -- necessitated because of the new bridge. I want to thank Patti Sharpe for the photos I am posting, all taken this morning. The first photo is the view from Station Road. You can see the pavement being removed and a lot of activity. The second photo shows the front of the EB House, showing the very reason why we wanted to wait until spring to finish restoring the front lawn.

The second matter is slightly distressing. Last night there was more heavy rain in Nova Scotia and the Great Village River flooded again. This flooding was of a more normal nature (though flooding in November is really not the norm -- any more than flooding on the equinox was, but that event was of an exceptional nature -- once in a hundred years, we hope!). The river overflowed this morning, but in a more normal way, along its sides, rather than with a the wall of water that came crashing from upriver in September.

I have been told by people in the village that the river never really went down to a normal level after the September flood, and it caused concern. My hope is that once the cold really settles in, all this rain will ease. I am told by Brazilian Bishop scholar Carmen Oliveira that there are places in Brazil, Sao Paulo, for example, which are suffering drought. Is there a way we can collect this rain and ship it to the southern hemisphere?! The yard at the EB House was not adversely affected, though I suspect that back part of the property is very wet -- but that is not out of the ordinary, either. The photo below shows the view from the old bridge, looking west.

I also want to mention that, weather permitting, it is our intention to hold an Open House at the EB House on Saturday, 29 November. That is a day of much activity in Great Village. There will be a holiday dinner and a Christmas concert at St. James Church that evening. So, I am hoping for a dry, clear day. I will post a more formal notice about this event next week.

The Value of the Elizabeth Bishop House

In today’s online newspaper allnovascotia.com (17 November 2014 issue), there appears an article by Courtney Zwicker about the Elizabeth Bishop House. The menu link title of this piece is: “Bishop House Gets Cheaper.” The main inside title is: “Elizabeth Bishop House Value Washes Away.”

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with Ms Zwicker about my concern about the impact of the flood of 22 September 2014 on the EB House. I even wrote a letter to the provincial government expressing this concern. The flood had an impact, of course; but the affect on the perceived and actual “value” of the house is a complex matter and must be assessed and understood in context.

My purpose in writing the eight or nine EB House updates that I have posted on this blog since the flood (you can find them by scrolling down this page and going into the archives for September and October) has been to show the impact. The house itself was structurally undamaged and the yard has been restored. I directed Ms Zwicker to these blog posts and assumed she would grasp the context that I presented in them.

I am writing this post to state publicly that I do not agree with the conclusion that the value of the house has “washed away.” This headline is exaggerated, even sensational, and implies a great deal that is not accurate.

There is, of course, the issue of the threat of another exceptional flood (that is what the flood of 22 September was). Perception is a powerful force in the world and the perception that such a threat exists has an impact. BUT the EB House is just fine, as you can see by the update that I posted yesterday (16 November 2014), directly below this post. The perception set up by Ms Zwicker’s piece is distressing and may have its own impact on the value of the house. I feel compelled to state my different view of the matter.

Final Elizabeth Bishop House Update for 2014

Our first hit of real winter in Nova Scotia came on Friday and Saturday: stick on the ground snow and a blast of Arctic air. My most recent visit to the Elizabeth Bishop House was on Saturday, 15 November. I was accompanied by my sister, Brenda Barry, who took the photographs I have included in this post.

First snow in Great Village, 2014. Looking towards the river.

With the arrival of winter weather, we have deferred any further restoration work on the yard until spring 2015, but I am happy to say that the new well pump is installed and purring like a cat. Thanks to Jim Hudson for doing this unexpected job for us.

One of the objects that floated into the yard during the flood, which was deposited there as the water receded, was a large, quite heavy wooden platform. I have no idea where it came from and no one has come by to claim it. It is around 5x3 feet and made of lovely wide boards, in good shape. I decided, since no one has appeared to say they are missing a back stoop, that I would move it to the side of the outhouse (a reminder, this building, decades ago, was literally the last Great Village School outhouse), as a small “deck.” Though it is not the kind of weather to sit and sun one’s self, next summer, it will be a nice spot to put a chair to read.

Sandra on deck.

The work on the bridge is proceeding, but it appears that there is yet much to be done. It seems practical to wait for the spring, when all is said and done to the road, which will need to be reconfigured in some way to accommodate the new trajectory of the bridge.

 View of the new bridge from Station Road.

This post will be the last one I do about the house this year. If something significant happens over the winter, say, for example, we sell the house, I will certainly post any important news; but for now, house updates will take a winter hiatus. So many people have helped set things to rights at the house, and many people at a distance were concerned about the house after the flood, that I wanted to tell our readers what happened there, and to thank all those who have been so supportive.

 Silent remembrance.

Soon, there will be other exciting Bishop news to report about on this blog. For example, on 20 November 2014, we will learn the winner of the Lieutenant-Governor’s Masterwork Arts Award. One of the five finalists is “I am in need of music,” Suzie LeBlanc’s wonderful Elizabeth Bishop legacy recording. As well, I have some news that I will post in December regarding my major work about Elizabeth Bishop, a biographical study that I have called, Lifting Yesterday: Elizabeth Bishop and Nova Scotia. You may notice a new link in the menu of this blog, which is related to this book. Stay tuned for all this important news.

Morning at the EB House, Great Village, 16 November 2014.

 

 Dawn is breaking.

Morning light in the study.

 St. James in the morning light, through the parlour window.

Elizabeth Bishop House Yard Restoration – Update about progress and a heartfelt thank you

It is hard to believe November has now set in, and with it colder weather and the inevitable snow, which is getting closer. This post is by way of an update about the work happening at the EB House.

I am delighted to report that the EB House has a new front step, thanks to our faithful and excellent carpenter Deverne Rushton. It is great to have the front porch fully restored, indeed, even improved thanks to Deverne’s expertise and effort. Thanks to Deverne for supplying this photo of the new steps.

I discovered during a recent visit to the house that the well pump, which seemed to have been unaffected by the flood water in the basement, has in fact been affected and will need to be replaced. As the saying goes, if it isn’t one thing, it's another. This work will be done this week by local plumber Jim Hudson. We are grateful to have such a good person to do the job. It is one sure fact about Great Village, there is always someone good who can do whatever job is needing done, and do it well.

The front lawn is still not back to its pre-flood state, but it is clear that the new bridge will have an affect on the trajectory of the road (Highway 2), which runs right in front of the house. I have been told there will be road work taking place, so we have decided to hold off doing final work on the front lawn (adding fill and re-seeding it) until the spring. I have heard that the powers that be expect the new bridge to be completed in December (the flood having set back that work by a couple of weeks). So, we shall know then what we will have to work with when we complete the yard restoration next year.

Upon my request, Patti Sharpe kindly took photographs of the new bridge from the head of the driveway of the EB House, just so that you can get an idea what I am talking about, get an idea of the change that will happen – though most of us are still not sure just how things will work.

 

We took the house off the market for a month while we did the restoration work, but the listing was re-activated on 30 October 2014. You can see more at:

http://www.novascotiaproperty.info/Truro/Nova_Scotia/Homes/Great_Village/Agent/Listing_125249684.html

To date, the cost of the restoration at the EB House has reached $3,179.00. Our Yard Restoration Appeal was heeded by some of our friends and supporters and to date we have received about $1,811.00 towards this restoration. We want to extend heartfelt thanks and deep gratitude to the people who contributed to the Elizabeth Bishop House Yard Restoration effort (in money and effort). Your support is greatly appreciated and has been a huge help. Muito obrigada to:

Janet Barkhouse
Binnie Brennan

Rosaria Campbell/Darlene MacIvor
Helen/Larry Cannon
Angela Conway
Eleanor Cook

Gwen Davies

Peter Dodge

Linda Rae Dornan

Denise Duhamel

Jane Finlay Young/Jim Williams

Emma FitzGerald
Ilze Folkins

Celeste Goodridge

Shauntay Grant

Kenneth Gross

Laurie Gunn

Elizabeth Jones

Susan Kerslake
Carol Laing
 Truman/Vivian Layton

Sandra MacLachlan/Barb Bell

Jill MacLean

Megan Marshall
Janet Maybee

Thomas/Leslie Moore

Janet O’Brien

Michelle Orange
Maria Clara Paro

Mary Lou Payzant

John Scott

Wendy Scott

Patti Sharpe

Susan Tooke/Richard Rudnicki
Michiru Tsubura

Janet Parker Vaughan

Christl Verduyn

Rita Wilson

Joan/Peter Wood
Donez Xiques/Judith Stark

Elizabeth Bishop House Yard Restoration Progressing Well

I was recently in Great Village to check on the yard restoration at the Elizabeth Bishop House. I am pleased to say that things are progressing well. The porch foundation is reconstructed thanks to Deverne Rushton. We are still awaiting a new front step, but it will be done in the very near future. It was decided to hold off seeding the front lawn because the work on the new bridge in Great Village will have an affect on the roadway right in front of the house. Once that work is done, the front yard, small as it is, can be fully restored.

All the heavy lifting and earth moving are done thanks to Cory Spencer. With the mild fall we have so far enjoyed, many warm summer-like days, the grass is already growing back in the areas that received the tons of gravel. You can see the blush of green emerging in the earth. This part of the lawn needs no re-seeding. Much of the grass may actually return before the snow flies. If we could harvest grass, we'd have a good income! It was so heartening to see the yard starting to look like itself again.

Part of the purpose of my most recent visit was to tend to some more regular yard work (raking leaves, putting gardens to sleep, and setting out material for the Fall Clean Up in Colchester County). There was still flood debris to pick up, but more manageable amounts than that immediately after the event, which Cory dealt with. A few friends came by to help out. I want to thank Rita Wilson, Rosaria Campbell, Darlene MacIvor and Patti Sharpe for bringing their tools and taking time out of a beautiful Saturday. And an extra thank you to Patti for taking the photos I am posting in this entry.

One thinks of William Carlos Williams.

 

I want to thank all those who have contributed to the EB House Yard Restoration Appeal so far. I will be putting up a list of contributors in the near future. Your support has been truly helpful and deeply appreciated.

Elizabeth Bishop House Yard Restoration Appeal

(Photo by Patti Sharpe)

On the morning of 22 September 2014, a sudden and significant flood occurred in Great Village, N.S. The Elizabeth Bishop House was right in the middle of this unexpected event, which was caused by over 100mm of rain falling in a very short period of time. (There is speculation in the village of other external factors that exacerbated this intense rainfall, but that is a debate for another place and time.) The house was surrounded by rushing water, but thanks to forethought by previous owners, it came through the flood just fine. You can see my accounts of the flood and its affects in the posts below.

The yard of the house did not fare so well. The driveway was washed away and a significant amount of gravel was deposited in the yard. The front porch foundation and steps were affected and must be rebuilt. All in all, considering the intensity of the event, this damage is manageable. Even so, restoring the EB House yard, which was always lovely, and repairing the front porch will require significant effort and expense. We have insurance for the house, but it will not cover the yard restoration work. The porch might be covered, but there is a significant deductible.

(Photo by Patti Sharpe)

In the manner of a crowd-funding campaign, the owners of the EB House are launching an appeal for help with the yard restoration work, which is now underway. Any contribution, however small, will be deeply appreciated and will go directly to this project. Giving $20 will help a lot. If you would like to help out, you can send a cheque payable to the Elizabeth Bishop House to Sandra Barry (P.O. Box 235, Middleton, Nova Scotia, B0S 1P0). Unfortunately, we are not able to provide tax receipts.

We will post reports about the progress of the restoration work on this blog and let our kind supporters know how their contributions have helped. The posts below tell the first parts of this story. Thanks to all those who have already helped, especially the folks in Great Village, and to all who have written to express their concern and support. We are most grateful for the community, the family, that surrounds the Elizabeth Bishop House.

(Photo by Brenda Barry)

Elizabeth Bishop House Yard Restoration Underway

Right off the top, I want to thank Cory Spencer and Deverne Rushton for their hard and good work with the yard restoration work at the Elizabeth Bishop House. This restoration began earlier this week and is still underway, but wonderful progress has been made.

Cory is the young man who has kept the EB House yard looking so good during the summer, for the past four years. After the flood, he came by to assess things and earlier this week, he tackled restoring the driveway and removing the huge quantity of gravel that had been deposited in the back yard. Part of this gravel came from the parking lot of Layton’s Store (between the antique shops). Part of it came from the shoulder of the road and the head of the driveway, which washed out completely. Cory returned some of the gravel to the parking lot and used the rest to rebuild the driveway and fill in around the foundation. Cory also righted quite a few trees and shrubs which had been lifted out of the ground, many tilted at strange, Bishop-esque angles (EB was fond of things that were tilted off the vertical or horizontal axis).

Deverne is our steadfast and trusted carpenter/handyman, who can do just about everything else. He took on the task of repairing the foundation of the front port and will be re-building the front step. 

I went up today with my sister, Brenda Barry (who is also one of the owners of the house), to check on the progress and take some photographs, so I could update all those interested.

As you can see by the photographs included here (taken by Brenda, the yard is starting to look more like itself, more normal. There is still work for Cory and Deverne to do, and later in October, we will be organizing a little work party to do some additional clean up (especially to remove debris that was also deposited in the yard); but it was so heartening to see such good progress and to know that things are being set to rights after such a serious flood.

 

One quite curious thing: the patch of roses at the very front of the house, right on the road, had been completely covered by raging water and the shoulder of the road washed out around them, but when the water receded, it was apparent that they seemed to come through just fine. The photo of the rose included here was taken today, their glowing pink contrasting with the brownness all around.

We are relieved and grateful that with some hard work the EB House will be returned to its pleasant state. Thank you, Cory and Deverne for all your support. See the previous two blog post to get a better sense of the progress. In the coming days, the owners of the house will be sending out a crowd-funding appeal for help with this restoration work. Stay tuned for further updates.

Elizabeth Bishop House -- Restoration Efforts

Great Village is starting to repair and restore the damage caused by last Monday's flood, something I have taken to calling the Equinoctial Flood of 2014, invoking Elizabeth Bishop's "equinoctial tears" in "Sestina." There are still a number of signs that something rather dramatic happened, but slowly those properties affected are being tended to. I have been to Great Village a couple of times, including this past weekend, to assess the damage around the Elizabeth Bishop House and to make arrangements for repairs and restoration. As I mentioned in the previous post, the main part of the house is fine, but the front porch needs to be re-secured and the steps rebuilt. Our excellent carpenter, painter, all around handyman Deverne Rushton will be doing this job. The enormous hole at the end of the driveway, seen below, was filled in by the Department of Transportation this past Friday, but there still remains several large holes in the driveway and around the foundation of the house. And there is that large quantity of gravel that was deposited.

Our excellent landscape contractor, Cory Spencer, who has been keeping the lawn looking so lovely all summer, will be restoring the rest of the driveway/foundation and dealing with the gravel.

It appears that our insurance will not cover cleaning up the yard, which while not an enormous task is still quite significant. The owners of the house will be launching a little appeal for help with the yard restoration, in the manner of a crowd-funding campaign, which operates on a give a little, help a lot premise. I'll be posting something about this in the coming days.

Again, we are so grateful to the folks of Great Village for their help. The photos in the previous post were taken by Patti Sharpe the day of the flood. These photos were taken by her, as well, the next day, when the sun had come and and summer had returned. I want to thank her again, for her support through this rather dramatic time. More updates will come. Stay tuned.

Elizabeth Bishop House Is Fine

"There are too many waterfalls here; the crowded streams / hurry too rapidly down to the sea…"

EB, "Questions of Travel"

In about two hours on Monday morning, 22 September 2014 (the first day of autumn), the meteorologists tell us that in parts of Nova Scotia 100mm of rain fell. One of those parts was the Great Village area. This volume of rain in such a short period of time caused the Great Village River to burst its banks, seriously flooding the centre of the village. A torrent of rain-swollen river water inundated the area from Layton’s Store to the bridge, which means that the EB House was in the centre of it all.

I did not witness the flood, but many people in the village did and I was told that around 6:30-7:00 a.m. people noticed some water starting to cross the road, then all of a sudden, a wall of water crashed through. Someone told me that someone remarked, “It was the biggest tidal bore,” they’d seen in some time. It was so bad that the bridge was closed for an hour or so. The rushing water lifted off a large propane tank on the Wilson’s Gas Stop property. After hitting the bridge, causing great concern, it floated down the river and out onto the marsh. A large trailer behind the fire hall was dislodged and moved to the side of the hall. Many photographs and videos were taken of this awesome, shocking sight. The water crested and began to subside as quickly as it had come. As the water drained away, the damage became more visible.

The EB House was in the direct path of this wall of turbulent water and was surrounded. It looked dire. As the water left, what revealed was a great deal of erosion around the foundation of the house. The front step had been taken off and the driveway, from the road to the verandah steps, had been gouged out, along with the shoulder of the road from the EB House to the bridge. Another peculiar thing was that a great quantity (a ton, literally) of earth had been deposited in the backyard of the EB House, a testament to how quickly the water ebbed: that is, it simply dropped large rocks, gravel and mud, as though from a dump truck.

At this point, I want to thank some people for their incredible kindness in checking on the house as soon as it was possible: Meredith Layton, Patti and Harold Sharpe, Deverne and Valerie Rushton. Patti contacted me immediately and told me of the event. She sent me photos, some of which you see in this post. They kept check on the house all day. I went to Great Village on Tuesday morning and all these people, and more (especially Cory Spencer), continued to be truly supportive and helpful. This is the nature of a small community, people care about each other. I know that similar acts of kindness went on for everyone else whose properties were in the path of this vast quantity of water. Bless all the people of Great Village.

I want to say clearly, in spite of the rather awful looking driveway and yard, the Elizabeth Bishop House itself is fine. I attribute this fact to Norman Bowers, who bought the house from Bishop’s maternal family in 1932 (after Bishop’s grandparents had died). One of the things not commonly known about the EB House is that the basement is an amazing place. It has three- and four-foot-thick concrete walls and floor – it looks like Fort Knox. The northeast corner of the floor is open earth because, since it was put on that site, the basement has taken in water from the spring runoff. The water goes in and the water goes out. Additionally, Norman Bowers knew the historic high water mark (the house was surrounded by water during the Great Saxby Gale of 1866, and perhaps once or twice since then – one time in the early 1930s, for example). Nothing has ever been stored there. The furnace is elevated nearly to the ceiling. The well pump and hot water heater are also elevated. I measured the high water mark from this flood: 35 inches. Extreme as that is, the basement took it without much trouble at all. The basement walls go down beyond the external erosion, which means, it was not compromised. The front porch foundation is not part of the main foundation and it will require some work (and a new step), but all in all, the house is secure.

The lovely yard, which is the most visible element, is a mess (besides the gravel, lots of debris floated into it). The clean up of it will begin in earnest as soon as the N.S. Department of Transportation in-fills the shoulder of the road at the beginning of the driveway, a task which needs to be done quickly, because as those who have stayed there know, the corner on which the EB House sits is a busy one.

I am showing you these photos of the height of the event so you can see something of the spectacle. Patti took more photos around the house on Tuesday, after all the water had gone, and I will post some of them as soon as I get them. When the yard is put back to rights, I will post more photos. We are withdrawing the house from market temporarily, but I am writing this post partly to state publicly that the Bishop House is fine. And to thank the community for its caring and concern. There was damage done to other properties and I want to express my heartfelt sympathy to those people and say that I hope the damage is minimal, as it was at the EB House. And I want to thank Norman Bowers, wherever he is in the spheres, for his incredible foresight and action to ensure the EB House is on solid ground (or concrete, as the case may be).

Suzie LeBlanc giving EB presentation in Montreal

On Thursday, 9 October, at 12:30 p.m., at the Atwater Library in Montreal, Suzie LeBlanc will give a presentation about Elizabeth Bishop and will perform some of the songs from "I am in need of music." This presentation is part of the library's "Lunchtime Series" http://www.atwaterlibrary.ca/events/lunchtime-lecture-series. You can find out more about the Atwater Library here: http://www.atwaterlibrary.ca/about-us

Suzie was the final artist in residence at the Elizabeth Bishop House this past weekend, and she spent some time taking photos of the house, village and bay to use in her presentation.

The artist retreat has now closed.

Before her Bishop talk in Montreal, Suzie will be attending a Masterworks Arts Award event. On Monday, 15 September, "the Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Awards Foundation will host a public panel discussion with the creators of the five works selected as the 2014 Finalists for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. The event will be held in Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Studio at 1593 Argyle Street from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m." This event is open to the public.

Suzie also has a new CD, "Suzie LeBlanc La Veillee de Noel de la France a l'Acadie" (apologies for lack of accents) due to launch later this year. She will be giving a performance of this wonderful music in Halifax on 17 December at the Music Room.

A Nova Scotia stone

Recently, American poet Michael Morse visited Great Village and stayed at the Elizabeth Bishop House. By his account, he had a pleasant time travelling around the area and spending a lot of time by the Bay of Fundy. On his drive back to New York City, where he lives, Michael stopped in Worcester, MA, and visited Bishop's grave in Hope Cemetery. He sent the photo below: a Nova Scotia stone placed on Bishop's gravestone.

In the Village Afternoon -- a few photos of the gathering

EBSNS President Laurie Gunn took these photographs of the "In the Village" Cafe Afternoon at the St. James United Church. Check out the post below this one to learn more about the events of that lively and inspiring afternoon.

We had a good audience who were most appreciative of all excellent presenters. Here we are all enjoying tea and blueberry treats in the cafe.

As emcee, I got to introduce all our young presenters. Here is ten-year-old Anneka Stroinktalking about her experience portraying Elizabeth Bishop in John Scott's short filmsbased on Bishop's poems "First Death in Nova Scotia" and "In the Waiting Room."

Everyone listening attentively.

"In the Village" Afternoon a success

On Sunday, 17 August 2014, the EBSNS hosted a gathering of five young artists at the "In the Village" Cafe in St. James United Church in Great Village. These young artists included: Maria Duynisveld, Libby Schofield, April Sharpe, Laura Sharpe, and Anneke Stroink. We were excited to have an audience of around forty people. The young presenters did a fantastic job, reading Bishop poems and their own work, and talking about their experiences being involved in Bishop activities and projects. I'll be posting some photos of this event soon, but this note is to alert you to a wonderful blog post written by one of our participants, Libby Schofield. I wanted to direct you to her blog and website and urge you to read her most thoughtful essay about her connection to Elizabeth Bishop and Great Village. Thank you, Libby, for your kind words. We are so proud of you and glad to hear that your involvement in the EB100 Writing Competition was so important and meaningful for you. Keep your ears and eyes open for Libby -- she will be doing wonderful things in the future -- as we know all these young women will be.

Libby's blog and website:

http://libbyschofield.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/in-the-village-ebsns-supporting-young-artists/

Suzie LeBlanc talks Elizabeth Bishop on Bluenose Opera House, 10 August 2014

On Sunday evening, 10 August 2014, Suzie LeBlanc will be co-host in the first hour of the Bluenose Opera House. She will talk about "I am in need of music," the Elizabeth Bishop legacy recording, and other things musical. You can find out more about the show and how to listen at:

http://www.bluenoseoperahouse.ca/recent-co-hosts

EBSNS presents "In the Village Cafe Afternoon" -- 17 August 2014

The Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia is pleased to host an afternoon in Great Village bringing together several young artists who have been involved in various Elizabeth Bishop projects. The artists involved include: Maria Duynisveld, Libby Schofiield, Laura Sharpe, April Sharpe and Anneke Stroink. The afternoon will take place in the "In the Village Cafe" in St. James Church, Great Village, N.S., at 2:00 p.m. Free admission. Come join us to hear what these young artists are up to and talk with them about their Bishop projects and other creative activities. Everyone is welcome.

Short Notice -- for our OTTAWA Readers (and those within reach thereof...)

I AM IN NEED OF MUSIC - 

August 2nd, 12pm 

Ottawa Chamberfest, Ottawa 

Suzie LeBlanc – Soprano
Mark Simons – clarinet
Pedja Muzijevic – piano

Programme

 John Plant Sandpiper (based on a poem by Elizabeth Bishop)
Christos Hatzis Four Songs on Poems by Elizabeth Bishop 
Saul Irving Glick Suite Hebraïque
Franz Schubert Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock)

VENUE/LIEU: Dominion-Chalmers United Church 355 Cooper Street Ottawa ON K2P 0G8 PRICE/PRIX: $30 General Admission
CONTACT: 613-234-6306

ANAPHORA (Elizabeth Bishop)

Each day with so much ceremony
begins, with birds, with bells,
with whistles from a factory;
such white-gold skies our eyes
first open on, such brilliant walls
that for a moment we wonder
'Where is the music coming from, the energy?

In memoriam: Donalda Nelson (1915-2014)

One of Great Village's most beloved residents, Donalda Nelson, died on Sunday, 27 July 2014. I met Donalda many years ago when I began my work on Elizabeth Bishop. She was one of the most gracious and generous people I have ever known. Whenever I visited Great Village, I was always welcome to visit and, invariably, we had tea and cookies -- tea made in "Margaret's teapot" -- the best tea ever. As I got to know her, and witnessed and benefited from her keen and compassionate insights about life, I began to say, with sincerity and conviction that I wanted to be like Donalda when I grew up. She was a shining light in this troubled world. I always came away from a visit with Donalda feeling uplifted and grateful, wiser and inspired. Her service will be in Great Village on Friday, 1 August 2014. Her obituary is viewable here: http://www.mattatallvarnerfh.com/obituaries/90222

Binnie Brennan reflects on the Elizabeth Bishop House

Writer, musician and photographer Binnie Brennan has spent time at the Elizabeth Bishop House. She posted a lovely essay of reflection about the house on her blog today. Check it out at this link:

http://binniebooks.com/this-old-house/

Evidence of Binnie's writing at the EB House

"The next to next to last..."

The realtor.ca listing for the Elizabeth Bishop House,
Great Village, N.S.:

http://beta.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=14687413&