"I am 3/4ths Canadian, and one 4th New Englander - I had ancestors on both sides in the Revolutionary war." - Elizabeth Bishop
____________________________________________

Saturday, June 25, 2011

FIRST ENCOUNTER XXXIV: "Profundidad de la superficie" -- a poem for Elizabeth Bishop by Yolanda Pantin

Profundidad de la superficie

Lo que no saben tus amigos
es que en Great Village, Nueva Escocia,
vivió aquella poeta que tanto hemos leído
y a la que hubiésemos querido visitar
en una peregrinación a sus orígenes,

que es como decir, a su mirada,
recién nacida al mundo
cuando el grito de su madre
se escuchó en todo el pueblo,
hasta su confinamiento.

No gaitas gaélicas,
sino una niña huérfana
que leía el National Geographic
en los consultorios médicos.

De manera que en el relato de viaje
que ahora escuchamos
falta un detalle, qué digo,
el phatos de esa geografía

que ofrece al dolor
madera blanda, escribió LoweIl,
y focas moviendo sus cabezas
igual que girasoles.

Pedalear hasta la orilla,
en una de las islas,
quince millas sin descanso,
entre pescaderías,
siguiendo el rastro que supongo
de rudos navegantes, no
te hará dueño de algo.

Ni haber vivido algunos días,
como nosotras lo hicimos
en aquel poblado, compartiendo
una rutina de trabajo.

Pero ambas tenemos un secreto
que el ímpetu de ese nuevo recorrido,
hoteles, carreteras, barcos que acarrean
bicicletas, de Maine a Nueva Escocia,
no nos habrá robado.

Discreción es la palabra, reticencia, tal
resumen la poética de Elizabeth Bishop.

No nos pertenece su experiencia, desde luego,
ni otro itinerario, pero sobre la brillante superficie
de esos paisajes que hemos anhelado, sí,
haber reconocido por ella
la profundidad de su desconcierto.
******
YOLANDA PANTIN (born in Caracas, 1954) studied letters at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. She was associated with the women poets known as "generación78" and was a member of the "Tráfico" group. She was one of the founders of the Editorial Pequeña Venecia and of the Casa de la Poesía, and has won many poetry prizes. In 2004 she was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. She is the author of ten books of poetry; her work was collected in Poesía reunida 1981-2002 (Otero ediciones, Caracas, 2004). She has also published children's books.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

“In the Village”: The Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Writing Competition, 2011, Winners


On 18 June 2011, at its Annual General Meeting, the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia announced the winners of the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Writing Competition. The winners have been notified and have been invited to attend the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Arts Festival, 19-21 August, at which time they will receive their prizes and read their winning stories. While not all winners will be able to attend, we are excited to say that a number of them will be present, including our First Prize winner in the Adult (Open), who is from Australia. The awards ceremonies and readings for the various categories will take place throughout the day on Friday, 19 August 2011. For those winers who are not able to attend, arrangements will be made for their submission to be read. The Writing Competition committee will be in touch with everyone who submitted and all participants are invited and most welcome to attend the Arts Festival. Our judges had a difficult time choosing the winners and were impressed by the overall calibre of submissions. The Writing Competition Committee and the EBSNS are grateful to everyone who submitted their work for consideration. We had 106 entries, submitted to all categories. For more information about the competition, the winners and the awards ceremonies, contact Laurie Gunn at laurieegunn@ns.sympatico.ca or Sandra Barry at slbarry@ns.sympatico.ca

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Category – Grades 4-6
First place:
Dakota Warren
Neil’s Harbour, Nova Scotia

Second place:
Maria Duynsiveld
Wallace, Nova Scotia

Third place:
Lauren Kruisselbrink
Kentville, Nova Scotia

Honorable mention:
Ryan Spencer
Great Village, Nova Scotia

Category – Grades 7-9
First place:
Elizabeth Schofield
Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia

Honorable mention:
Ryan Atkinson
Centre Burlington, Nova Scotia

Category – Grades 10-12
First place:
Aaron Holland
Bridgetown, Nova Scotia

Second place:
Tiffany Vincent
Cornerbrook, Newfoundland

Third place:
Morgan Illsley
Bridgetown, Nova Scotia

Honorable mention:
Chris Creene
Bridgetown, Nova Scotia

Category – Post-secondary
Honorable mention:
Sarah Giragosian
Albany, New York

Category – Adult
First place:
Moya Pacey
Garran, Australia

Second place:
Mary Jo Anderson
Banff, Alberta

Third place:
Anne Pollett
Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia

Honorable mention:
Mary Verna Feehan
Providence, Rhode Island

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Rose-Coloured Glasses


Offered the choice I ask for you to choose:
you boggle (“Is my tessitura showing?”),
then proffer me the shorter of the two.
An awkward kiss. I never can remember
which cheek one ought to turn or just how many
times one's lips slip – right to left to right?

I lift it to the light. Striations, bubbles,
some stippled streaks of dots and dashes... scratches
left behind by vehement Old-Fashioneds?
Manhattans left behind on fascist liners
the cheapest way to Europe in the thirties?
A Brocken bow’s adiabatic site?

Where have I seen them? Yes, I know! – the panes
of wavy glass her lace-hung parlour window
opens to the CAUTION sign outside
the house she grew up in, across from where
the Esso station stood once, oily, homely, –
it’s Wilsons Gas Stops now, of course, at night

as noisy as the spot it’s filled was filthy.
The Harleys belch their little mushroom clouds
as kids race up and squeal their tires and giggle
in G# voices, chains and leather jackets.

One young man dismounts, his fresh-lit Marl-
boro cigarette (imported) drips pink light

on handlebars through still-cupped palm and fingers.

The rain commences, making water music
out of sync with kettle hiss and whistle
drawing me from the window to the kitchen.
I take the almanac from where it hangs
fastened by a steam-damp length of white –

– No. That isn’t string. It’s more like twine.
One end is frazzled where a scrap of paper
dangles still: a smudge of inch-worm green
almost occludes the couple words remaining.
“Rented... . Or maybe “Scented... bank”?
But bank of what? Of roses? No. Too trite –

Anyhow, her house (the first of three)
is yet to come. I’m heading there next week
to decompress and maybe to compose
some sort of thank-you note to you, dear Suzie,
not just for bringing me the armadillo
carved from soapstone, or the nifty slight-

ly scratched - but reeking all the more of meaning! -
drinking glass you got in Ouro Preto –
No. Most of all for you. Your глаз. Your глас.
– The Russian ‘glaçes’ can mean both ‘eye’ and ‘voice’. –
Two glasses. One for S. One - MCB.
Three merging ‘looks’. Three plovers taking flight.

6-8-10 February, 11 June 2011

JB

Monday, June 20, 2011

News from Halifax

Elizabeth Bishop's photograph graced the front page of the Sunday, June 19, 2011 edition of the Halifax Chronicle Herald, which included a substantial illustrated article about Bishop's connection with Great Village by Lois Legge. The web edition of the newspaper reproduces the article, and also includes three video presentations. These may be found at the following URL:

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1249257.html

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Our New York Correspondent Writes --

Elizabeth Bishop: A Discussion of Her Life and Legacy

Event Type: Poetry Reading
Event Date and Time: July 14, 2011
Venue:
(map)
Madison Square Park
At the foot of the Farragut Monument; 25th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues
New York, NY

For further information contact:

Leslie Shipman
212-685-0261
www.nationalbook.org

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Literary Litter of the Littoral-Minded: Elizabeth Bishop's Ideas of Disorder at Key West


[Over the next few weeks we will be posting links to video and audio recordings of some of the presentations given at the recent Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Conference at the University of King's College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our first speaker is Zachariah Wells of the University of New Brunswick. -- JB]

Zachariah Wells
[photo: John W. MacDonald]



The Literary Litter of the Littoral-Minded:
Elizabeth Bishop's Ideas of Disorder at Key West


Elizabeth Bishop's poem "The Bight" is a work of almost pure description. Embedded in, and protruding through, the sheer surface of Bishop's poem, however, are a number of literary allusions. Those allusions orient the poem and its author in relation to a number of important precursors, including Baudelaire, Hopkins, Herbert, Wordsworth, Whitman, Marianne Moore and Wallace Stevens. In each case, Bishop encodes a fraught exchange, establishing affinities and asserting independence. The explicit subject of "The Bight" is the harbour of Key West, but my reading of the poem demonstrates that it is also concerned with "place" as status, as Bishop negotiates her relationship with the literary canon to which she now unequivocally belongs.

This paper is a condensed excerpt taken from a long essay on "The Bight." Another excerpt will be published soon by The Worcester Review.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

EBSNS - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING


Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

18 June 2011, 1:30 p.m.

Great Village Legion, Great Village, N.S.

~ DISSOLVE IN A DAZZLING DIALECTIC!! ~

In this year of celebration of Elizabeth Bishop’s 100th birthday, the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia is marking its 17th year of existence. Since 1994, the EBSNS has been commited to raising awareness of Elizabeth Bishop’s life and work and of her strong connection to Nova Scotia. The EBSNS is centrally involved in many activities and events to mark Bishop’s centenary, so this year’s AGM will be part birthday party and part celebration update.

After a brief business meeting (to which all are welcome), members of the EBSNS and the public are invited to stay and hear all the exciting news and learn more about the wonderful events yet to come:

Official announcement of winners of “In the Village”: The Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Writing Competition.

~

Unveiling of brochure for the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Arts Festival,

taking place in Great Village on 19-21 August 2011.

~

Sandra Barry, author of Elizabeth Bishop: Nova Scotia’s “Home-Made Poet” will be present to sign copies of her book.

~

Talk with some of the artists involved in upcoming EB100 events.

~ A YEAR OF CELEBRATIONS ~

EB100: The Elizabeth Bishop Centenary celebration in Nova Scotia will be a series of events and activities (concerts, lectures, exhibits, readings, kitchen parties, tours, publications, etc.) Because Bishop was born on 8 February 1911 and died on 6 October 1979, events will occur throughout the province and across this time span, but four points during the year — winter, spring, summer and fall — will bring a particular concentration of activity.

In addition to the events in Great Village and Halifax, many artists — writers, musicians, painters, film-makers, photographers, actors, dancers, artisans, etc. — arts groups and universities in Nova Scotia will create events to mark the centenary.

The Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia is Canada’s only society devoted to celebrating the life and art of the poet Elizabeth Bishop. Educating Nova Scotians and the world about her deep and abiding connections to the province is its purpose.

Who to contact?


John Barnstead, President, EBSNS, EB100 committeeEmail: bishopcentenary@gmail.com


Sandra Barry, Secretary, EBSNS, EB100 committeeEmail: slbarry@ns.sympatico.ca


Joy Laking, EBSNS, EB Centenary Arts Festival committee: laking.joy@gmail.com


Where to find out additional information?


Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia:http://www.elizabethbishopns.org


Elizabeth Bishop Centenary blog: http://elizabethbishopcentenary.blogspot.com


Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Events website:http://elizabethbishopcelebration.ca



TODAY'S EVENTS -- "It Must Be Nova Scotia: Negotiating Place in the Writings of Elizabeth Bishop"

SUNDAY, 12 JUNE 2011

Coffee – 2nd floor A&A Building

9:00—10:30 a.m. Sessions

Geography V
Location: Haliburton Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Jonathan Ellis

• Sandra Barry, “Shipwrecks and Housewrecks: Elizabeth Bishop’s Sable Island Journal”
• Silvia Maria Guerra Anastásio, Federal University of Bahai, “A Haven for Elizabeth Bishop.”
• Corey Clawson, Utah State University, “Poetic Flyways: Birds as Poets and Travelers in thePoetry and Correspondence of Elizabeth Bishop and May Swenson”

Ekphrasis, Rhetoric and Autobiograpy
Location: Board Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Deborah Kennedy

• Joshua Steffey, Marquette University, WI, “Elizabeth Bishop Looking: Portraits of the Artist as a Blind Woman”
• Cynthia Messenger, University of Toronto, “The Rhetoric of an American Voice in Bishop’s Letters and Verse”
• Andre Furlani, Concordia University, “‘irrepairable (rhyme)’: Elizabeth Bishop’s Homesickness”

10:30—11:00 a.m. Coffee Break – 2nd floor A&A Building

11:00 a.m.—12:30 p.m.

Finale: Round Table
Location: Alumni Hall
Chair: Alexander MacLeod
Participants: Eleanor Cook, Suzie LeBlanc, Colm Tóibín, Thomas Travisano

**********

2:00-3:30 p.m., boarding at 1:45 p.m.

Halifax Harbour Cruise (http:www.mtcw.ca/FleetMarII.php), together with participants
from the “a past that never has been present”: International Art – Philosophy –
History Conference (www.originary past.ca) aboard the Mar II Departure from Queen’s
Wharf (behind the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on Lower Water Street). Free of
charge (with cash bar on board)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

TODAY'S EVENTS -- "It Must Be Nova Scotia: Negotiating Place in the Writings of Elizabeth Bishop"

SATURDAY, 11 JUNE 2011

8:00—9:00 a.m. Registration/Coffee – 2nd floor Arts & Admin. Building Kings University.

9:00—10:30 a.m. Session

Space, Orientation and Disorientation
Location: Haliburton Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Louise Burley

• David Jarraway, University of Ottawa, “‘The Play Between the Spaces’: Elizabeth Bishop, Frank Gehry, and The Problematic of ‘Home’”
• Paola Nardi, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, “Creolized spaces in the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop”
• Ross Leckie, University of New Brunswick, “Disorientation, Blank Spots, and Vertigo in the Poetry of Elizabeth Bishop”

Money and Science
Location: Board Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Cynthia Messenger

• Eric Lindstrom, University of Vermont, “Money, Painting, and ‘Poem’: Elizabeth Bishop’s World Picture”
• Leslie Wooten, Arizona State University, “Elizabeth Bishop: Revisioning Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection”
• Kristen Reed, University College – Virginia Commonwealth University, “Symmetry and
Self: Martin Gardner, Elizabeth Bishop, and ‘The Gentleman of Shalott’”

10:45 a.m. – Loading of bus

11:00 a.m. – Depart for Great Village

12:30 p.m. – Arrive in Great Village

12:30—2:30 p.m. Box lunch pick up – St. James United Church – Touring Great Village and the Elizabeth Bishop House – Tour Guides: Sandra Barry, Jonathan Ellis

2:30—4:00 p.m. Session

Sanctuary, St. James United Church
Chair: Sandra Barry

Literally In the Village
• Brian Bartlett reading “In Bishop’s Village”
• Tomas Travisano, Hartwick College, “Elizabeth Bishop: Poet of Three Nations?”
• Michiru Oguchi, Japan, “The ‘Pitch’ of the Village”
• Susie DeCoste, University of Waterloo, “‘How Late to Have Begun Your Travels!: Maritime Regional Identity in Bishop’s ‘Memories of Uncle Neddy’”

4:15 p.m. – Depart from Great Village

5:45 p.m. – Arrive in Halifax

6:00—7:30 p.m. – Free time

7:30—9:00 p.m.

Marie Claire Blais on Elizabeth Bishop – Alumni Hall

9:00 p.m. – Post talk reception – King’s University Library

Friday, June 10, 2011

TODAY'S EVENTS -- "It Must Be Nova Scotia: Negotiating Place in the Writings of Elizabeth Bishop"

FRIDAY, 10 JUNE 2011

8:00—9:00 a.m. Registration/Coffee – 2nd floor Arts & Administration Building, Kings University.

9:00—10:30 a.m. Sessions

Key West

Location: Board Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Ross Leckie

• Zachariah Wells, University of New Brunswick, “The Literary Litter of the Littoral-Minded: Elizabeth Bishop’s Ideas of Disorder at Key West”
• Adele Barclay, McGill University, “Subjective Geographies: Questions of Epistemology, Poetry, and Place in Elizabeth Bishop’s Poetry and Letters”
• Marvin Campbell, University of Virginia, “‘Doing More with Key West’: Elizabeth Bishop’s Hemispheric Turn”

Translation

Location: Haliburton Room (A&A Building)
Chair: John Barnstead

• Orlando Jose Hernandez, Hostos Community College-CUNY, “Elizabeth Bishop and Translation: A Geography of Cultural Exchanges”
• Elzbieta Wojcik-Leese, University of Copenhagan, “How Clouds Change Shape in Eighteen Words: ‘Sestina’ and its Two Polish Translations”
• Shao-Pin Luo, Dalhousie University, “The ‘One Art’ of Translation: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Translations of Elizabeth Bishop’s ‘One Art’”

10:30—11:00 a.m. Coffee Break – President’s Lodge

11:00a.m.—12:30 p.m. Sessions

Geography IV

Location: Haliburton Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Susie DeCoste

• Linda Anderson, Newcastle University, UK, “Dubious Topography: Space and Time in Bishop’s ‘The End of March’”
• J.R. Carpenter, University College Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, “Writing Coastlines: Estuaries, Islands and Beaches in the Writings of Elizabeth Bishop”
• Kelly C. MacPhail, Université de Montreal, “Geography of the Poem: Elizabeth Bishop’s Form and the Production of Meaning”

Bishop and Others (Herbert, Hopkins, Moore, Auden, Heaney)

Location: Board Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Brian Bartlett

• Jonathan Ellis, University of Sheffield, UK, “Bishop’s England”
• Vidyan Ravinthiran, Balliol College, Oxford, UK, “Auden and Bishop: Another Look at ‘At the Fishhouses’”
• Connor O’Callaghan, Sheffield Hallam University, UK, “Hyphens by Hopkins: The Compounding Influence of Hopkins on Bishop, of Bishop on Heaney”

12:30—1:30 p.m. LUNCH – Prince Hall

1:30—2:30 p.m. Session

Reminiscences of Elizabeth Bishop

Location: Alumni Hall
Alexander MacLeod in conversation with David Staines about Elizabeth Bishop.

2:30—3:00 p.m. Coffee Break – 2nd floor Arts and Admin. Building (outside Board Room)

3:00—4:30 p.m. Sessions

On “Crusoe in England”

Location: Haliburton Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Peter O’Brien

• Sue Goyette reading: “On Hearing Elizabeth Bishop Read Her ‘Crusoe in England’”
• David Wheatley, University of Hull, UK, “‘Now I live here, another island’: Elizabeth Bishop, ‘Crusoe in England’, and the Importance of Elsewhere”
• Sara Meyer, Gordon College of Education, Haifa, Israel, “The ‘Un-Rediscovered, Un-Renamable’ Island—Exile, Placenessess, and the Poetics of Autobiography in Bishop’s ‘Crusoe in England’”

Miniature and Maternal

Location: Haliburton Room (A&A Building)
Chair: Len Diepeveen

• Anne Shifrer, Utah State University, “Home Bodies: The Somatic in Elizabeth Bishop’s May Swenson’s Recollections of Home”
• Anne Koval, Mount Allison University, “The Miniature World of Elizabeth Bishop”

5:30—7:30 p.m. – Official Reception – President’s Lodge (food and wine)

7:30—9:30 p.m.

Colm Tóibín on Elizabeth Bishop.
Location: Alumni Hall

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Updated URL for "It Must Be Nova Scotia: Negotiating Place in the Writings of Elizabeth Bishop"

Here is a link to further information about the two keynote addresses to be delivered at the upcoming EB100 conference at the University of King's College, June 10 through June 12:

http://www.ukings.ca/event/colm-toibin-and-marie-claire-blais-speak-kings


Bishop scholars from all over the world will be gathering this weekend to ponder her work in Nova Scotia, her childhood home. We hope to see you there!


Saturday, June 4, 2011

It Must Be Nova Scotia: Negotiating Place in the Writings of Elizabeth Bishop

If the amazing Elizabeth Bishop tribute concerts happening now during Scotia Festival of Music are not enough Bishop celebration for Nova Scotians, we are about to host a group of Bishop scholars and devoted readers from around the world for "It Must Be Nova Scotia: Negotiating Place In the Writings of Elizabeth Bishop," a symposium taking place from 9-12 June, 2011, at University of King's College in Halifax. Find out more information about the symposium here.

The symposium starts on Thursday evening with a Scotia Festival concert featuring the world premiere of a setting of Bishop's poem "Brazil, January 1st, 1502" by composer and musician Dinuk Wijeratne. There are three days of amazing presentations, conversations, round tables, and two keynote addresses by Irish writer Colm Toibin and Quebec writer Marie Claire Blais.

We are even exporting the whole event to Great Village -- a session will take place in St. James Church in Great Village, N.S., on Saturday, 11 June 2011, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.

At this mid-way point in the celebrations of the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary, Halifax is the place to be!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Scotia Festival of Music & Elizabeth Bishop


On 30 May 2011, Scotia Festival of Music, one of Nova Scotia’s premiere annual music events, opens in Halifax, N.S. It runs until 12 June.

EB100 is thrilled that as part of the festival’s impressive two-week-long programme, there are five special concerts in honour of and in tribute to Elizabeth Bishop, part of the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary celebrations.

To learn more about Scotia Festival of Music, go to its website: http://www.scotiafestival.ns.ca/

For tickets: call Scotia Festival of Music: 902-429-9467 or 1-800-528-9883 or online at the url above

Special Bishop concerts:

1 June 2011
Suzie LeBlanc recital – with harpischordist Alexander Weimann
7:00 p.m. St. George’s Round Church, 2222 Brunswick St.
http://www.scotiafestival.ns.ca/2011/programs-2011/recital-1?ee_id=280

3 June 2011
“At the Fishhouses” recital – with Tempest Baroque Ensemble and Suzie LeBlanc and RH Thomson
7:00 p.m., St. George’s Round Church, 2222 Brunswick St.
http://www.scotiafestival.ns.ca/2011/programs-2011/recital-1?ee_id=280

5 June 2011
Alexander Weimann recital
2:00 p.m., The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Rd.
http://www.scotiafestival.ns.ca/2011/programs-2011/recital-3-elmar-oliveira-and-john-novacek?ee_id=284

7 June 2011
Highlight Concert – with Super Nova String Quartet and Blue Engine String Quartet
(includes performance of setting of Bishop’s “Sandpiper” by John Plant)
7:00 p.m., Sir James Dunn Theatre, Dalhousie Arts Centre
http://www.scotiafestival.ns.ca/2011/programs-2011/highlight-concert-4?ee_id=287

9 June 2011
Highlight Concert – with a WORLD PREMIERE performance of a setting of Bishop’s “Brazil, January 1st, 1502,” by Dinuk Wijeratne (setting for piano, oboe, bass, percussion, voice and Capoeira dancers!!)
7:00 p.m., Sir James Dunn Theatre, Dalhousie Arts Centre
http://www.scotiafestival.ns.ca/2011/programs-2011/highlight-concert-6?ee_id=289

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Music and Medicine -- and Elizabeth Bishop

On Friday, 27 May, 2011, The Medical Humanities--H.E.A.L.S. Program of Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., presents its "Music -- the Best Medicine" -- an annual showcase of the Dalhousie Medical School talent. Featuring the Dalhousie Medical School Chorale, The Vocal Chords and The TestosterTONES. This concert, taking place at Faith Tabernacle at Windsor and Summit Streets, at 7:30 p.m. is sponsored by the Music-In-Medicine Programme of Dalhousie in partnership with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia. (Tickets are $15 and can be reserved at 494-6574 -- and available at the door.)

Why do I mention this event, which in and of itself will be a fun time? I have been told by one of the choir members that one of selections chosen for the Chorale to sing is a setting of "I am in need of music" ("Sonnet"), a poem by Elizabeth Bishop. This selection was made because the choir admires the setting, and I think they had no idea that they are performing in the midst of Nova Scotia's year-long Elizabeth Bishop Centenary celebrations.

Bishop was fascinated by all things medical. Indeed, she almost abandoned poetry at Vassar to study science and become a doctor. Marianne Moore talked her out of it. Her own health issues (asthma and allergies) and the fact that her mother and two maternal aunts and two maternal cousins were nurses, makes it no surprise that Bishop had a life-long interest in all things medical. Years ago I gave a presentation to the History of Medicine Society (I think that was around 1997) -- also connected to the Dalhousie Medical school, about Bishop's interest in medicine. So it seems entirely appropriate that this setting of Bishop, which is about the healing powers of poetry (really of all the arts), be performed in this setting, by this particularly ensemble.

What intrigues me is how we are seeing in Nova Scotia our beloved poet find her way into the wider society and culture, taken up by artists of all disciplines and embraced by all types of readers. Perhaps our message about Bishop and her connection to and influence on Nova Scotia, is sinking in.

Scotia Festival of Music is fast approaching and there will be five special Elizabeth Bishop tribute concerts. The Elizabeth Bishop Symposium at University of King's College is also nearly upon us. We will be posting information about both these events in the coming days.

I would have happily put in a link for the Music -- the Best Medicine concert, but there was no website listed on the poster. But do your own search and sites do turn up for related activities.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Two recent EB100 events -- a brief report

Music and Painting: On 5 May 2011, the folks from Scotia Festival of Music went to the Great Village School, along with the Halifax ensemble The Blue Engine String Quartet, to hold a morning of painting and music session with the children (Grades Primary to Four). While the children painted posters for Scotia Festival, the quartet played the music of Mozart, Handel and others. It was a lively, fun morning for everyone and some fabulous works of art were created. Here is a glimpse of the gathering.


Photo by Linda Shears

The 2011 season of Scotia Festival of Music begins on 29 May in Halifax, N.S. This year there will be five special concerts in tribute to Elizabeth Bishop, in celebration of her centenary. Check out the schedule for this upcoming season on the Scotia Festival website. We will be posting more information about the concerts in days to come.

A book launch: On Saturday 14 May I had the great delight to launch my new Bishop book, Elizabeth Bishop: Nova Scotia's "Home-Made" Poet, at the Elizabeth Bishop House in Great Village (I had a launch in Halifax a few days earlier, which was also great fun, but it was so nice and right to gather in Bishop's childhood home and share this book with the folks of Great Village). Here are a few images from that day. I want to thank everyone who came out for the launches. You can order the book online at the publisher's website: Nimbus Publishing -- or, if you are in Nova Scotia, pick it up at your local independent bookstore.






Photos by Brenda Barry

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Another Little Technical Note

I will be leaving Oakland City early tomorrow morning for Texas to attend my nephew Robert's graduation from the University of Texas at Austin, and returning late Monday night. This is why the "Today in Bishop" entries for May 18-23 have been posted en masse. Please don't forget about the poetry reading at Five Islands this weekend! -- JB

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Nova Scotia Poets' Tribute to Elizabeth Bishop

NOVA SCOTIA POETS PAY TRIBUTE TO ELIZABETH BISHOP
A reading and conversation
21 May 2011, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Mo’s at Five Islands, 951 Highway 2
Free. Everyone welcome!
An Elizabeth Bishop Centenary, 2011 Event

~ DISSOLVE IN A DAZZLING DIALECTIC ~

~~~~~
Some of Nova Scotia’s best poets gather to pay tribute to Elizabeth Bishop and celebrate her centenary. Reading from Bishop and their own poetry, and in lively conversation, these poets will highlight the idea of influence and explore the importance of poetry in our culture.

Poets include: Brian Bartlett, Rosaria Campbell, Joanne Light, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, Chad Norman, Harry Thurston, Margo Wheaton and Paul Zann. Hosted by Sandra Barry and Dick Lemon.

Five Islands, N.S., was a literal and iconic geography for Bishop, appearing in her much beloved poem “The Moose.” She knew the history and landscape well. Mo’s at Five Islands is an exciting spot on the road that runs along Cobequid Bay and Minas Basin. It has developed a reputation as a place for good food and art and lively music and literary gatherings. Come join the party on Saturday, 21 May 2011, at 1:00 p.m.

The Poets

Brian Bartlett is a Halifax poet whose recent collections are The Watchmaker's Table (Acorn-Plantos Award) and Wanting the Day: Selected Poems (Atlantic Book Award), as well as the chapbook Being Charlie. He's also edited a book of prose on the poet Don McKay and three volumes of selected poems -- by Don Domanski, James Reaney, and Robert Gibbs. Since 1990 he has taught Creative Writing and literature at Saint Mary's University.

Rosaria Campbell writes short fiction and essays and on occasion tries her hand at poetry. Originally from Campbell’s Creek, Nfld, she now lives on a small farm in Wallace Station, N.S., and works at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro. She is a particular admirer of the poets from the first half of the twentieth century.

As Gillian Wallace writes, “Joanne Light speaks her poems into the audience’s air with a marvelous strength, becoming the voice she is speaking. It is so exciting to hear her. Her fusion poem with a Spanish classical guitarist that was one of the pieces I had the privilege of hearing recently was beautifully wrought, twining around the notes until I could see the images she was creating right in front of my eyes. I hadn’t been a huge fan of Spoken Word poetry until I heard her. Now I know what it can offer.”

Lorri Neilsen Glenn is a poet and essayist with four collections of poetry, the most recent being Lost Gospels (Brick Books, 2010). She was Poet Laureate for Halifax from 2005-2009, where she lives. Her collection of essays on grief and loss will be published this fall by Haglos Press.

Chad Norman enjoys the pace of living beside the Atlantic. Over the years he has published in many journals in several countries, occasionally making it into one which actually pays a few dollars. His most recent book, Ants On the Rainbow: Poems To, For, And About Children was published by Undertow Press in October 2010. His collection Hugging the Huge Father is due out in 2011.

Harry Thurston is a poet and author of more than twenty books, including Animals Of My Own Kind: New and Selected Poems and The Atlantic Coast: A Natural History, forthcoming in the fall of 2011.

Margo Wheaton lives in Halifax where she completed a Master’s degree in English at Dalhousie University. Her poetry has appeared in a number of publications including The Fiddlehead, The Antigonish Review, CV2, The New Quarterly, Prairie Fire, and Undercurrents: New Voices in Canadian Poetry. Her work received the Alfred G. Bailey award from the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick for best unpublished poetry manuscript and she is currently completing a first collection of poems.

Paul Zann is a much-published author. An adult novel, a book of poetry, three children’s novels, a collection of humorous essays, a one-person play, and a book of nonsense verses for children, illustrate the versatility of his writing interests. These books have been published by five Canadian publishers.

For more information contact Sandra Barry at slbarry@ns.sympatico.ca

Friday, May 13, 2011

Technical Note

Until June 1 we will be posting the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday entries for "Today in Bishop" as a block on Friday, due to the complications arising from working at quite a fair remove from our usual haunts (Halifax, Nova Scotia ==> Oakland City, Indiana). Thank you for your patience!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Launch of Elizabeth Bishop: Nova Scotia’s “Home-Made” Poet, by Sandra Barry


I am delighted to say that my book about Elizabeth Bishop will soon be launched. Those who know me understand that getting to this point has been s a long, complex journey. Nimbus is calling it a “pictorial biography” which I like – it is a little book with lots of interesting pictures – which is always fun. A brief account of her life with a focus on her connection to Nova Scotia, this book will, I hope, be a good introduction for many Nova Scotians and Canadians who have yet to discover her – and a way for the wider world to learn more about the deep and abiding link she had with her childhood home. Those who know me understand that this little book is not all I have to say about Elizabeth Bishop, but it is a compression I feel good about because I think it is of a size that will draw in readers who do not want to wade through academic or critical works about this important poet.

I am most grateful to all the people who have supported me over the past twenty years, as I have explored and lived with Elizabeth Bishop and Nova Scotia, family and friends without whom my work would not be possible. I will not name them because they know who they are and I hope they know the depth of my gratitude.

I am launching it in Halifax on 10 May (the above poster gives the details) and then in Great Village on Saturday, 14 May 2011, at 1:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Bishop House (8740 Highway 2, Great Village, N.S.) – this latter is very special and appropriate because the EB House was the centre of her childhood universe and now has become a place where artists find inspiration and quietude to create.

The book is be available locally (in NS and across Canada) at bookstores -- please try to buy it at an independent bookstore (in Halifax I am particularly partial to BookMark). You can also get it through the publisher: www.nimbus.ca. However, I know a many people order online. It is available through Amazon.ca and in the fall will be available through Amazon.com. The ISBN is: 978155109234.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Scotia Festival rally on May 4th at 7pm

A reminder

On Wednesday, May 4th at 7pm in The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Rd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Scotia Festival of Music is holding a rally for its upcoming Festival in June 2011.

Soprano Suzie Le Blanc will sing Mozart's fiery motet "Exultate Jubilate" with pianist Simon Docking and the performance will be followed by a description of the main events of the Festival including
five concerts given in honour of the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary (EB100). These concerts will feature International and local artists such as RH Thompson (Toronto) Alexander Weimann (Munich & Montreal), Blue Engine String Quartet (Halifax) Tempest Baroque Ensemble (Halifax), Suzanne Lemieux (Halifax) and Suzie LeBlanc (Montreal & Halifax). Performances will include works from the Baroque and Classical eras as well as Premieres of Canadian compositions by composers Dinuk Wijeratne and John Plant.

Please join us and bring a friend who may enjoy "Halifax's Rite of Spring" with Scotia Festival of Music.

Scotia Festival of Music is an annual two-week chamber music festival held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the first two weeks of June, boasting over fifty public events. Featuring international talent of the highest caliber, the festival offers Highlight Concerts, Recitals, open rehearsals, masterclasses, coaching sessions, lectures, and more.