Chapter 8 of Lifting
Yesterday is a compare and contrast exercise between two central Bishop
texts. The first is an unpublished manuscript housed at Vassar College,
written when Bishop was in her 20s, mostly during her time at Vassar. The
second is her “prose poem” (Bishop’s term) memoir “In the Village,” written in Brazil in 1952–1953
and published in The New Yorker in
December 1953.
In the Vassar
College file list for the
Elizabeth Bishop Papers, the first of the above texts is described as
“Reminiscences of Great Village” (a name given to it by the archivist). In the
early 1990s, I ordered a copy of the file list of the EBP from Vassar and as
soon as I saw this title, I ordered a photocopy. Much of it is holograph and I
spent months transcribing Bishop’s nearly illegible handwriting. As the
transcription slowly accumulated on the page, I realized the full significance
of this document: essentially, the first rendition of Bishop’s vivid memories
of the breakdown of her mother in Great
Village in 1916. I had
already read “In the Village” and could see that this later version, highly
refined with the passage of time and through aesthetic imperative, was a
powerful artistic “echo” of her intense childhood memories, evolved from the
raw and intimate words of the earlier version, transcending into something
amazingly universal.
This supplement is a little story about “In the Village” and
how Great Village itself learned about this
story’s existence. One of my dearest friends in Great Village
was Donalda Nelson, daughter of Donald and Alberta MacLachlan. Bishop was very
fond of Don and Bertie. One of their oldest daughters, Margaret MacLachlan
Motley, was a good friend of Bishop’s mother, Gertrude Bulmer Bishop. Bishop
went to school with Muir MacLachlan (see her memoir “Primer Class” for a famous
mention of Muir). Donalda herself, four years younger than Bishop, had memories
of seeing Bishop walking the Bulmer cow Nelly to the pasture not too far past
her family home (on Scrabble Hill
Road in Great
Village).
I met Donalda in the early 1990s, after she joined the
Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova
Scotia, when it was formed in 1994. Donalda was a
wonderful person. Always welcoming, she had a deep knowledge of the history of Great Village
which she generously shared. After having lived away from Great Village
for many years, she and her husband, Harry Nelson, had moved back and lived
across the road from her family home, where her sister Margaret lived, and
beside her brother Muir and his wife Helen. Donalda lived in the lovely old
house that had belonged to the Great
Village postmaster during
Bishop’s childhood, Angus Johnson.
Donalda, Muir and Margaret kindly allowed me to interview
them (recorded on a cassette tape) a couple of times, sitting in the kitchen of
the MacLachlan family home, with its old stone oven and open fire place.
Margaret died not too long after these interviews. She was over 100. Muir died
in 2003, well into his 90s. Donalda died in 2014, nearly 100.
As often as I could when I went to Great Village,
I would visit Donalda. We would sit in her kitchen and have tea using
“Margaret’s teapot,” a small earthenware pot painted a soft pink. It made the
best tea ever. Donalda’s stories were always engaging and she was always keenly
interested to hear about Elizabeth Bishop activities. Over the years, I took a
number of people to visit her, including BBC Radio 3 folks, who recorded her
playing the piano (Donald and Alberta MacLachlan were accomplished musicians
and this musical ability was passed on to a number of their children, including
Donalda).
Often, Donalda would bring out objects and items that were
of keen interest to us both. During one afternoon visit in the mid-2000s, she
left the room for a moment and returned with an item, “You might be interested
in this,” she said. It was a copy of the 19 December 1953 issue of The New Yorker, in which “In the
Village” appeared (in great shape, I might add). You can imagine my delight.
Donalda told me that Margaret was living in New York City in the 1950s, where in December
1953 she discovered Bishop’s story. She immediately recognized the village. She
mailed this very copy back home to her family.
I have no idea if Bishop herself mailed a copy of it to her
beloved Aunt Grace (who also lived in the village at that time). None was in
Grace’s possession when she died. So, this copy from Margaret to her family may
be the first hint in the village that it had been immortalized in print. The
MacLachlans kept it, all that time. It eventually reached Donalda. I was
thrilled to see it and even more thrilled when she quietly said to me, “Would
you like to have it?” It is one of my prize possessions.
I attended the memorial service for Donalda held in St.
James Church on 1 August 2014. She had chosen the music for this service and
each song was gentle and uplifting. So like Donalda to think of those who would
gather, who would feel deep sorrow at her passing, that her final act was one
of gracious consideration and comfort. I always uplifted after a visit with
Donalda, and I left her memorial service feeling the same way. I will always be
grateful for all the gifts she gave me.