New book published on poet Elizabeth Bishop with chapter by Dr Sarah Kennedy

A new collection of essays on poet Elizabeth Bishop has been published by Cambridge University Press, featuring a chapter by Downing Fellow in English Dr Sarah Kennedy. 

Consisting of thirty-five ground-breaking essays by an international team of authors, including biographers, literary critics, poets, and translators, Elizabeth Bishop in Context addresses the biographical and literary inception of Bishop’s originality, from her formative upbringing in New England and Nova Scotia to long residences in New York, France, Florida, and Brazil. Her poetry, prose, letters, translations, and visual art are analyzed in turn, followed by detailed studies of literary movements such as surrealism and modernism that influenced her artistic development. Many of the essays are informed by archival research, including analysis of unpublished drafts, notebook entries and letters. Dr Kennedy's chapter in the book explores Bishop’s time living in Florida and its influence on her poetry. 

In her endorsement of the book, Susan Rosenbaum says, “Bishop’s work emerges as more complex, multi-faceted, and surprising than even long-term readers might expect. This book is a must-read for readers new to Bishop and for those that thought they knew her.” 

More information on the publication is here on the CUP website with a blogpost by editors Jonathan Ellis & Angus Cleghorn. 

Dr Sarah Kennedy's profile in our Directory of Fellows.

Published 19 August 2021.