The Voice of the Poet : Elizabeth Bishop

Rating:
Summary: a Treat!
Review: Elizabeth Bishop disliked the sound of her own voice, and often refused to permit recordings (even private ones) of her readings. Bishop's executor, Alice Methfessel, respected the poet's keen protective instincts, and allowed no commercial issue in the two decades since Bishop's death. As a result, the speaking voice of this great poet has remained a mystery, even as Bishop's following and reputation has grown by bounds.

I still remember the shock of hearing Bishop's voice for the first time. Bishop's voice is so -- I don't know any other word for it -- so ordinary. This is as true on her early recordings (from the late 1940s) as on her mature readings (mid 1970s). At times, the listener is tempted to think she does not understand the meaning of what she is saying: she is so shy about drawing attention to her poetic craft, and so embarrassed about revealing any hidden emotional content, that she almost seems to be reading the work of another person. "Don't you realize," I want to shout, "that you are speaking some of the greatest lines in American poetry?" But we must remember that Bishop's self-effacements, however ineffective in a public reading, are part of the reason why her poems are so emotionally satisfying. Meaning and memory resonate in the most lightly observed surface details.

I would highly recommend this recording to anyone who already knows Elizabeth Bishop's work and biography -- it is an excellent reference, even if it is not the most entertaining recording. However, I would caution a newcomer to Bishop NOT to start here. It is far better to read the poems and the letters first so that you have a sense of the many masks this poet wears. Another good place to start is the hour-long documentary on Elizabeth Bishop in the "Voices and Visions" series, which appeared years ago on public television (available in many libraries). James Merrill and Mary McCarthy are interviewed about their friendship with Elizabeth Bishop and make many illuminating comments. Blythe Danner -- Gwyneth Paltrow's mom! -- reads the poems of Bishop, and frankly does a better job of it than Bishop does.

Rating:
Summary: Essential Elizabeth Bishop, but not for the newcomer...
Review: Elizabeth Bishop disliked the sound of her own voice, and often refused to permit recordings (even private ones) of her readings. Bishop's executor, Alice Methfessel, respected the poet's keen protective instincts, and allowed no commercial issue in the two decades since Bishop's death. As a result, the speaking voice of this great poet has remained a mystery, even as Bishop's following and reputation has grown by bounds.

I still remember the shock of hearing Bishop's voice for the first time. Bishop's voice is so -- I don't know any other word for it -- so ordinary. This is as true on her early recordings (from the late 1940s) as on her mature readings (mid 1970s). At times, the listener is tempted to think she does not understand the meaning of what she is saying: she is so shy about drawing attention to her poetic craft, and so embarrassed about revealing any hidden emotional content, that she almost seems to be reading the work of another person. "Don't you realize," I want to shout, "that you are speaking some of the greatest lines in American poetry?" But we must remember that Bishop's self-effacements, however ineffective in a public reading, are part of the reason why her poems are so emotionally satisfying. Meaning and memory resonate in the most lightly observed surface details.

I would highly recommend this recording to anyone who already knows Elizabeth Bishop's work and biography -- it is an excellent reference, even if it is not the most entertaining recording. However, I would caution a newcomer to Bishop NOT to start here. It is far better to read the poems and the letters first so that you have a sense of the many masks this poet wears. Another good place to start is the hour-long documentary on Elizabeth Bishop in the "Voices and Visions" series, which appeared years ago on public television (available in many libraries). James Merrill and Mary McCarthy are interviewed about their friendship with Elizabeth Bishop and make many illuminating comments. Blythe Danner -- Gwyneth Paltrow's mom! -- reads the poems of Bishop, and frankly does a better job of it than Bishop does.

Rating:
Summary: a Treat!
Review: i bought this tape on a road trip and logged the miles spellbound by how Bishop's voice and inflection turned the poems I blew through in college into delightful, insightful stories. This tape, and i'll bet the others in this series, is an example of why poetry needs to be heard, rather than read. Send these tapes to schools everywhere!

Rating:
Summary: Bishop converses...
Review: The Bishop on this tape is a surprise. She reads easily, congenially, interrupts herself to comment on what she's doing. She's funny, and the humor that's under the surface of the poems gets to bubble up at odd moments. It's a great selection of poems, and it's fantastically handy to have the booklet of the texts of the poems (some of which are interestingly different from the versions Bishop reads) tucked into the pocket in the front of the elegant package. J.D. McClatchy's introduction to her work is, as always, illuminating.