Voices & Visions

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Elizabeth Bishop

From childhood in Nova Scotia to travels in Brazil, this program illustrates the geographic spirit of Bishop's life and works with scenes from her poems.

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Elizabeth Bishop’s poems were always admired for the purity and precision of her descriptions, and now readers have come to see how, even in her early poems, the attention to external detail reveals an internal emotional realm. Bishop’s early works use surrealism and imagism to create a new reality in which she minimizes the reference to self in poetry, but her later poems become more autobiographical and more concerned with a quest for personal identity.

Additional Resources

Academy of American Poets

Hear Bishop describe an “egg of fire” disrupting ancient owls, a glistening armadillo, and a baby rabbit in “The Armadillo” at the Academy of American Poets’ Bishop site. An essay/exhibit, “Life Studies: American Poetry from T. S. Eliot to Allen Ginsberg,” explains why Bishop is considered “one of our most abundant poets.”

Vassar College: Elizabeth Bishop

Read papers on Bishop’s artistic influences, her search for an “earthly paradise,” her political concerns, and other topics at this Vassar College site. The site also contains a brief biography, a thorough bibliography, an essay on Bishop, a register of Bishop papers at Vassar, and information about two Elizabeth Bishop societies.

Series Directory

Voices & Visions

Credits

Produced by the New York Center for Visual History. 1988.

Closed Captioning
ISBN: 0-89776-258-4

Programs

1 Elizabeth Bishop

From childhood in Nova Scotia to travels in Brazil, this program illustrates the geographic spirit of Bishop's life and works with scenes from her poems.

2 Hart Crane

Diverse locations and dramatizations of his life illustrate Crane's poetry and his greatest work, "The Bridge."

3 Emily Dickinson

Dramatic scenarios and New England landscapes illuminate the passionate genius of Dickinson, whose poems represent a broad range of imaginative experience.

4 T. S. Eliot

Eliot's life, influence, and poetry from the bold originality of "Prufrock" to the probing, meditative style of "Four Quartets" are explored with photos, archival footage, and discussion with friends, critics, and scholars.

5 Robert Frost

Frost's image as elder statesman is vividly contrasted with his vigorous, poetic exploration of the darker forces of nature and the human condition. Readings and interviews with the poet reveal compelling insights into his work.

6 Langston Hughes

Hughes wrote of the beauty, dignity, and heritage of blacks in America. Interviews, music, and dance performances convey his work and influence, discussed by James Baldwin and biographer Arnold Rampersad.

7 Robert Lowell

Lowell's political passion encompasses much of his greatest poetry. Lowell himself reads from his work. Elizabeth Hardwick, Robert Hass, and others discuss his development and style as illustrated by "Lord Weary's Castle" and "Life Studies."

8 Marianne Moore

Funny, formidable, and paradoxical, the poet and her work are analyzed by critics and friends, including Monroe Wheeler, Grace Shulman, and Patricia Willis. Her most memorable poems display her power of observation and moral force.

9 Sylvia Plath

The creative intensity with which Plath confronted her experiences as daughter, wife, mother, and writer is explored in documentary and archival footage intercut with visualizations of her work.

10 Ezra Pound

The most controversial of American poets — artistic catalyst, legendary confidant, and author of brilliant cantos — Ezra Pound and his poetry and role in the modernist movement are explored by friends and critics.

11 Wallace Stevens

Stevens's flamboyant verbal technique and philosophical vision of American life are beautifully illustrated by archival footage.

12 Walt Whitman

Brilliant readings of Whitman's poems demonstrate his American vision and style and vividly convey their poignance and sheer power. Whitman's sources, including Emerson, the King James Bible, opera, and political oratory, are revealed.

13 William Carlos Williams

"No ideas but in things," Williams's aesthetic dictum sought to capture, not analyze. A collage of documentary footage, interviews, animation, and dramatization capture the poet's often visual work and intense life.

Voices & Visions

Elizabeth Bishop

From childhood in Nova Scotia to travels in Brazil, this program illustrates the geographic spirit of Bishop's life and works with scenes from her poems.

Additional Resources

Series Directory

Credits

Programs

1 Elizabeth Bishop

2 Hart Crane

3 Emily Dickinson

4 T. S. Eliot

5 Robert Frost

6 Langston Hughes

7 Robert Lowell

8 Marianne Moore

9 Sylvia Plath

10 Ezra Pound

11 Wallace Stevens

12 Walt Whitman

13 William Carlos Williams

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