Elizabeth Jane Bishop
- Born:
- February 8, 1911, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- Died:
- October 6, 1979, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Poet, Short Story Writer
Early Life and Education
- Experienced a challenging childhood marked by the early death of her father and the subsequent institutionalization of her mother.
- Spent her early years in Nova Scotia with her maternal grandparents.
- Attended Vassar College, graduating in 1934. During her time there, she co-founded the literary magazine Con Spirito.
Career and Major Achievements
- Traveled extensively, particularly in Europe and North Africa, after graduating from Vassar.
- Received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1951, allowing her to settle in Brazil for over a decade.
- Served as a Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949-1950.
- Taught at Harvard University in the 1970s.
- Won the National Book Award for Poetry in 1970 for The Complete Poems.
- Awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1976.
Notable Works
- North & South (1946)
- Poems: North & South – A Cold Spring (1955)
- Questions of Travel (1965)
- The Complete Poems (1969)
- Geography III (1976)
- Edgar Allan Poe & The Juke-Box: Uncollected Poems, Drafts, Fragments (2006, posthumous)
Legacy and Impact
Elizabeth Bishop is regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20th century. Her meticulous observational skills, formal precision, and exploration of personal experiences have had a lasting influence on subsequent generations of poets. This biography bishop elizabeth, highlights her key contributions to the field of literature.