Cambridge Companion to Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop is increasingly recognized as one of the twentieth century's most important and original poets. Initially celebrated for the minute detail of her descriptions what John Ashbery memorably called her thinginess Bishop's reputation has risen dramatically since her death in part due to the publication of new work including letters stories and visual art as well as a controversial volume of uncollected poems drafts and fragments. This Companion engages with key debates surrounding the interpretation and reception of Bishop's published and unpublished writing in relation to questions of biography the natural world and politics. Individual chapters focus on well-known texts such as North & South Questions of Travel and Geography III while offering fresh readings of the significance of Nova Scotia Massachusetts and Brazil to Bishop's life and work. With a chronology and guide to further reading this volume explores the full range of Bishop's artistic achievements and the extent to which the posthumous publications have contributed to her enduring popularity.