Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop

About Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer. Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Award winner in 1970, and the recipient of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1976.

  • She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts.
  • She lost both her parents as a young child. Her father died, and her mother was committed to a mental asylum.
  • She lived with her maternal grandparents in Nova Scotia and later with her father's relatives in Worcester and South Boston.
  • She traveled to France, Spain, North Africa, Ireland, and Italy and then settled in Key West, Florida, for four years. Her poetry is filled with descriptions of her travels and the scenery that surrounded her.
  • Bishop’s poetry focuses on her impressions of the physical world. Her images are precise and true to life, and they reflect her own sharp wit and moral sense.
  • She lived for many years in Brazil, communicating with friends and colleagues in America only by letter.
  • She was a teacher at Harvard University for seven years.
  • She was awarded an Academy Fellowship in 1964 for distinguished poetic achievement, and served as a Chancellor from 1966 to 1979.
  • She died in Boston on October 6, 1979.


More on Wikipedia

    Poems by Elizabeth Bishop

  • In The Waiting Room

    Famous Poem

    in Famous Family Poems

    In Worcester, Massachusetts,
    I went with Aunt Consuelo
    to keep her dentist's appointment
    and sat and waited for her

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    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 2
    • Favorited 0
    • Votes 4
    • Rating 4.50
  • One Art

    Famous Poem

    in Famous Sad Poems

    The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
    so many things seem filled with the intent
    to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

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    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 1360
    • Favorited 21
    • Votes 240
    • Rating 4.30
  • The Fish

    Famous Poem

    in Famous Nature Poems

    I caught a tremendous fish
    and held him beside the boat
    half out of water, with my hook
    fast in a corner of his mouth.

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    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 1200
    • Favorited 4
    • Votes 88
    • Rating 3.67
    • Poem of the Day


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