Megan Marshall (Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast) discusses Elizabeth Bishop, one of America’s most revered poets and Marshall’s teacher, in her acclaimed blend of memoir and biography.
Why should you attend?
“Marshall’s account is lively and engaging, charged with vindicating energy…. [A] compelling structure…the reader watches the two women’s lives converge, and it allows for some closeup glimpses of Bishop as a teacher. Marshall seems still sensitive to having given up poetry, the one great thing that Bishop, for all her losses, never let go. There’s an emotional undertow even in Marshall’s treatment of poetic forms…and in her unwavering reverence for the magic that form cannot explain. The book is ultimately about how words ordered on a page may supply some order for one’s life, may assuage and even redeem tragedy.” —The New Yorker
“A sharp portrait of the tragedies and other influences that shaped Bishop’s life and career…. Best of all are Marshall’s analyses of Bishop’s poems….This fine biography demonstrates the magnitude of Bishop’s achievements without ignoring her flaws.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Marshall is a skilled reader who points out the telling echoes between Bishop’s published and private writing. Her account is enriched by a cache of revelatory, recently discovered documents…. Marshall’s narrative is smooth and brisk: an impressive feat.” —New York Times Book Review
This event is part of the 2018 Virginia Festival of the Book. A full schedule of events is available here.