Elizabeth Bishop and the Literary Archive: Planned Activities, Class 4

Elizabeth Bishop and the Literary Archive 

NEH Summer Seminar June 12-30, 2017 

Vassar College Project 

Director: Dr. Bethany Hicok

Thursday, June 15: Editing

Here we move into a discussion of Bishop and the shifting landscape of the poet’s reputation as new editions and biographies are published and new materials come into the archive. No scholar has defined this shifting landscape more thoroughly than Dr. Thomas Travisano, who will join us today and Friday for discussion on archival research, teaching Bishop and her circle, editing, and the art of biography. Dr. Travisano will also be available to consult with scholars on their projects today and tomorrow. 

Readings: Travisano, “Editing 20th Century Letters: The Road to Words in Air,” from Letter Writing Among Poets, Ed. Ellis; Cleghorn, Hicok, Travisano, “Introduction,” Gray, “Postcards and Sunsets: Bishop’s Revisions and the Problem of Excess,” Goldensohn, “Elizabeth Bishop’s Drafts: ‘That Sense of Constant Readjustment,’” all from Elizabeth Bishop in the 21st Century: Reading the New Editions; Hicok, “Elizabeth Bishop’s Translations,” from Elizabeth Bishop’s Brazil; and Bishop and Lowell, Words in Air.