There are no words...

... except, perhaps, those of Miss Bishop:

 "This is a world of books gone flat.
 This is a Jew in a newspaper hat
 that dances weeping down the ward
 over the creaking sea of board
 of the batty sailor that winds his watch
 that tells the time of the busy man
that lies in the house of Bedlam."

Here is Devin Leonard's account of his recent visit to Saint Elizabeth's:

"Homeland Security's Future Home: A Former Mental Hospital"

ECHOES OF ELIZABETH BISHOP AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

Bruce Grey

"This place, with its rolling emerald hills and thick forests, is my home. It’s a place where in autumn the air smells of ripe corn and asters, and in spring it sounds of newborn calves and foals. In the late winter it tastes of homemade maple syrup wrapped in sweet snow, and in the summer it feels of strong stalks of hay." Elizabeth Schofield, First Place, Grades 7–9 Category.

The response to Echoes of Elizabeth Bishop has been overwhelmingly positive. This Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Legacy project was designed and printed by the award-winning Gaspereau Press (http://www.gaspereau.com/) of Kentville, N.S. Gaspereau did its usual superb job and this collection of prose with beautiful visual art is a truly elegant volume. This limited edition book is a must for any book lover’s collection. It makes a wonderful gift.

The price is right, too: $15.00 (no tax), plus postage and handling, if you order online.

To find out more, go to the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia website: www.elizabethbishopns.org where you can purchase copies online. Bookmark (http://bookmarkinc.ca/halifax/), Halifax’s wonderful independent bookstore, is also selling copies (they are located on Spring Garden Road in downtown Halifax).

"Now, when I say the word "camp" chances are you're probably going to think of a tent and a log fire, or maybe even a camper trailer with satellite television in it. But one thing's for sure, when I hear that word those are the last images that come to my mind. The first thing that comes to my mind is the cabin that my grandfather owns." Aaron Holland, First Place, Grade 10-12 Category.

Laurie Gunn