Call for proposals: American Literature Association conference (2013) panel on Elizabeth Bishop

Below is a call for proposals for a proposed panel at the 2013 American Literature Association conference to be held in May 2013 in Boston -- a fascinating preliminary discussion around the exciting anthology project that is being created by Anne Shifrer, Brian Bartlett and Corey Clawson. We'll keep you posted on the progress of this project.

“Elizabeth Bishop as Muse: Inspiration and Emulation”

In conjunction with an anthology project which collects published poems about, addressed to, or strongly influenced by Elizabeth Bishop, the project editors are proposing a session at ALA in which participants discuss one or two such poems. We are hoping to create a panel or roundtable which includes both critics and poets (even poets who have authored such a poem). In a ten-minute presentation (approx. four pages), participants will consider what the poem(s) of their choice uniquely reveals about E.B.'s life and character or the nature, craft, and value of her art. Those interested may find our provisional list of anthology poems (by her British and American peers as well as generations of poets from Ireland's Seamus Heaney to Brazil's Anna Cristina Cesar) at the following address:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj_qs6GzqD_WdDd3T2I1WWVfcUU5bi00bWttWUhFelE]. 

We also welcome poems we haven’t yet discovered, so long as these provide valuable insights into what it is about E.B.’s poetry that so inspires admiration and emulation. 

Please send proposals (about 250 words or even a paper draft) to the editors: Corey Clawson (cdc115@eden.rutgers.edu), Brian Bartlett (bbartlett@hfx.eastlink.ca), Anne Shifrer (Anne.Shifrer@usu.edu). We seek compressed and polished short essays. After the presentations (5-6 people), the panelists will have an open discussion. PROPOSAL DEADLINE: January 15, 2013.

Another glimpse of the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording Fund-raiser in Toronto

Here are a couple photos just received from Suzie LeBlanc, taken at the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording fund-raising event at the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto on 30 November 2012. It gives another opportunity to thank all those who worked so hard to organize this event and a heartfelt thanks to all who attended and supported this project. You can find our more about the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording at www.eb100legacyrecording.blogspot.ca.

From left to right: Suzie LeBlanc, composer Christos Hatzis and emcee for the evening, CBC Radio host Tom Allan.

Our Suzie LeBlanc -- you can just see composer, musician and conductor Dinuk Wijeratne on the left sitting at the piano (they wowed the audience with their performance).

A Glimpse of the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording fund-raiser in Toronto

I recently received a couple of photographs taken by Desmond Brunelle, who, with the painter Alfred Villenueve, attended the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording fund-raiser in Toronto on 30 November at the Canadian Music Centre. We weren’t sure that Alfred would be able to attend, but in the end he was there with his beautiful painting, which he had donated for a silent auction. His painting was sold and we are deeply grateful to Alfred for the funds that it raised for this project. It is lovely to have a glimpse of this lively and successful event. 

Alfred Villeneuve and Suzie LeBlanc, Canadian Music Centre, 30 November 2012

Mary Ellen Sullivan and Alfred Villeneuve, Canadian Music Centre, 30 November 2012 (the painting Alfred donated is on the wall on the left)

  

To find out more about the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording and how to contribute, we are still accepting donations, go to: www.eb100legacyrecording.blogspot.ca

Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording Fund-raiser in Toronto a Success – plus an update about two other Bishop projects

The performance space at the Canadian Music Centre was full and buzzing early Friday evening, 30 November, as people gathered for the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy Recording fund-raiser, organized by Suzie LeBlanc, with the help of Debra Chandler. Suzie was joined by very special guests: Tom Allan, popular CBC Radio host, who acted as emcee; Dinuk Wijeratne, a composer, musician and conductor, who conducted the recording sessions and performed for the assembled; Christos Hatzis, the composer of four of the Bishop poem settings, who spoke about his involvement with this project; Eleanor Wachtel, renowned CBC Radio broadcaster and Bishop fan, who read Bishop’s poems; and Alfred Villeneuve, Ontario painter, who had donated one of his works for the event (see a post below for more about his contribution). Suzie reports, “The event was wonderful” and “people seemed to have a lovely time.” We will be posting more information about this successful event this coming week.

 

For now, I want to alert you to two interesting EB developments. First, composer John Plant, whose settings of “Sandpiper” and “Sunday 4 A.M.” are featured on the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy CD, informs that his “Sandpiper” will be performed  at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre in Toronto by the Talisker Players in a concert called “On the Wing,” on 7 and 8 May 2012. For more details see: http://www.taliskerplayers.ca/onTheWing.html

Film-maker John Scott also informs that his short “First Death in Nova Scotia,” based on Bishop’s poem, has been receiving good reviews and a lot of attention. Check out the website for his production company, Magpie Productions, to find out the exciting details: http://www.magpieproductions.com/ John will be shooting another short based on Bishop’s poem “In the Waiting Room,” in Nova Scotia in January 2013.

*****

Again, stay tuned for an update about the Toronto fund-raiser for the Elizabeth Bishop Legacy recording.

We still need your help with this project.

You can find out how to donate at:
www.eb100legacyrecording.blogspot.ca