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intend to focus on some nearly completely ignored material related
to, and produced during, Elizabeth Bishop’s life, and by herself
as well as by those common people that she in some way or another
dealt with. Bishop is usually associated with modernist poetry,
especially with Marianne Moore, her mentor, whom she invokes in
the celebrated “Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore” (Cold
Spring, 1955). There she imagines Moore in a descending flight over
Brooklyn Bridge very much like a witch with pointed black shoes
and a never missing pointed black hat, somehow the oxymoronically
hieratic pose in which the older poet has remained on the retina
of our inner eye. The outer eye can’t help being struck by
Marianne Moore appearing as the one person occupying the space of
honour in a family picture taken of the Sitwells’ guests,
at a reception, among whom Delmore Schwartz, Randall Jarrell, Stephen
Spender, Marya Zaturenska, Tennessee Williams, Richard Eberhart,
Gore Vidal, W.H. Auden, and, of course, Elizabeth Bishop.
In the following lines statements will be made and suppositions
formulated on the basis of documents not published to this day that
originate in Bishop’s stay at Harvard as lecturer of English
between 1970 and 1973. As a resident of Kirkland House between September
1993 and June 1994, in my capacity as Fulbright Professor doing
a postdoctoral research, I came to investigate some of the circumstances
under which Elizabeth Bishop became resident of the same house.
With the help of Mrs. Diane Barrios’s, the then Assistant
to the Masters of Kirkland House, I was able to bring to light notes,
bills, proofs and other hand-written, as well as typed or printed
material bearing Bishop’s direct print or having to do with
her in various ways. Needless to say, when I presented the English
Department of Harvard University with what I had discovered, Professor
Helen Vendler, the immediate recipient of those freshly ‘unearthed’
documents, nearly fainted with excitement.
The sensational quality of the situation was enhanced by my finding
out that my family and myself nearly ended up in the very flat that
had been occupied by the famous poet in the early 70’s, that
is, I-27. A last-minute change moved us on to the top-floor I-41,
but I could visit Bishop’s rooms and spend some time there
at one point, after my feat of archaeological success. I was further
prompted into looking into the case and identified Auden works bearing
Bishop’s hand-written reading remarks on page margins in the
Houghton Collection of rare books and manuscripts. For the judgements
below to assume more relevant contours some preliminary remarks
may not be useless.
Elizabeth Bishop was physically rather frail, much of an introverted
person, and one with not few odd reactions. Repeated long treatments
in hospitals shed special light on various references to traumatic
moments from quite early in her orphan childhood deep into her mature
life: a terrifying tooth extraction experienced by her aunt, while
the little girl peruses the National Geographic in the waiting room
(“In the Waiting Room,” Geography III), having to bend
over her cousin’s dead body in his tiny coffin (“First
Death in Nova Scotia,” Questions of Travel), or calling at
St. Elizabeth’s to see Ezra Pound in his lunacy (“Visits
to St. Elizabeth’s, Questions of Travel).
She was a particularly sensitive person, whose artistic inclinations
point to thorough interest in fine arts, especially in painting.
This seems to have been unconvincingly analysed, as has her passion
for Brazilian architecture. Her translations from the Portuguese,
as well as her own writing on Brazilian life remain rather dimly
represented in literature. The other side of her intellectual personality,
‘the philosophic mind,’ also lies somewhat dormant in
the critical sources available so far, though Bishop’s making
friends with John Dewey and his daughter Jane appears to have left
obvious traces in her poetic career. Her L.L.D. is simply overlooked
in the monographic studies published to the date.
Even her traveller’s passage through and out of this world
can be fathomed with still unused instruments. A translator in whatever
sense of the word, Elizabeth Bishop has left us English renditions
of selections from other literatures, poetic impressions of her
peripatetic existence – translations from one culture to another,
from one region to another, from one territory to another –
and transpositions from one art to another. To testify to this are
such volumes of verse as North and South (1946), Brazil (1962) Questions
of Travel (1965), Geography III (1969). Constantly on the move,
at home and yet always freshly a stranger everywhere, always elsewhere
as she chooses to call a later volume, she decides to live in Brazil
permanently in 1951. Previously acquainted with Newfoundland (1932),
Belgium, France, England, North Africa, Spain (1936-1937), Ireland,
London, Paris (1937-1938), Provence, Italy (1935-1938) Florida (1939),
and Mexico (1943), Bishop temporarily returns to New York City in
1958. She develops a long-lasting love for the Brazilian ‘interior’
in the early 60’s and spends various amounts of time in the
United States mainly as visiting professor (University of Washington,
1966, then 1973) and as lecturer in English (Harvard, 1970-73),
only to eventually take steps to return to America. It is this last
academic interlude that will be touched on in this paper.
Letters sent by Bishop to, and received from, Harvard officials
in view of her imminent teaching stay in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
at the time of her decision to leave Brazil, bring to the fore information
little capitalised on as yet. Interlarded with strenuous correspondence
between the poet and then one Alice Methfessel, on the one hand,
and a Californian transfer company, they bring the case home in
a more satisfactory manner. Also, letters issued by the law offices
of Howard, Prim, Smith, Rice & Downs based in San Francisco,
as well as Bishop’s responses to them give supplementary content
to the poet’s Harvard years. They have the saving grace of
fleshing out persons reduced to the abstract quality of ficelle
characters in our notion of Bishop’s biography. Most relevant
are the personalities of two women acting somewhat blurred yet telling
roles in the postmortem scenario that I have tried to draw up. These
are Alice Methfessel, Assistant to the Master of Kirkland House
in 1970, and one Roxanne Cumming, who appears to be moving location
from the West to the East Coast at the same time as the poet. A
Mr. Gerald A. Wright signs letters containing the legal aspects
of the move and one Florence Corkum is the transfer company staff
member responsible for the goods to be shipped across America before
Elizabeth Bishop starts her fall term at Harvard.
Let us try to narrate this apparently boring story. September 30,
1970: Arthur Smithies, Master of Kirkland House, writes a warm letter
of invitation to the “Lecturer on English” that “the
boys” have already met and have felt impressed by. October
23: the Assistant to the Master sends a letter to Mrs. Ruth H. Morrison,
20 University Hall to ask that the three long-distance calls made
by Miss Bishop, “inhabitant of the (I-27) suite for this term
only,” be charged on the latter instead of on her, though
they were made from her extension. We thus learn that Bishop’s
phone has been out of order for some time, which explains why the
note left in the door by the telephone company man, who has not
found the occupant of I-27 in, is meticulously precise about the
technicalities of the matter.
October 27: Mr. Wright confirms to Bishop that her things, including
three McIver paintings have been sent to Massachusetts. Other personal
property, such as the automobile, the fridge and some tables entrusted
to his hands for sale will have to wait before he finds a relatively
acceptable bargain for her. The name Roxanne occurs here for the
first time in connection with a typewriter whose shipment, the owner
seems to have implied, should be paid by Bishop. Mr. Wright begs
to differ and makes this quite clear to his client. A hospital bill,
he also says, has been submitted to Blue Cross hoping that they
will pay for the poet’s recent treatment. A typewritten note
signed Elizabeth Bishop and addressed to her students asks them
not to come to classes on November 10, because their teacher is
ill. To this I have, I hope correctly, attached a note in Bishop’s
hand comprising the readings they are supposed to do in the meantime.
Also attached I have found it logical to place a note in Alice’s
hand saying “Miss Bishop is still sick and will not be in
her office today. It is still unclear when her breathing & voice
will be functioning normally.”
November 13: Mr. Wright confirms that he has found a good buyer
for Bishop’s car and that he will see to it that the money
received from the moving company is properly deposited in her account.
November 20: The Law Offices of Howard, Prim, Smith, Rice &
Downs send Bishop a list of costs advanced including long-distance
telephone calls May through October, previous to her moving to Kirkland
House. December 15: City Transfer & Storage Co. announce the
Law Offices above that Roxanne’s typewriter has been sent
to Tacoma, Washington. December 21: Mr. Wright writes a rather angry
letter to City Transfer asking how big the fees they are charging
can, after all, be. December 21: The same gentleman, in a missive
to the poet, makes a point of stating that Roxanne’s stuff,
the by now legendary typewriter, should be paid for by Roxanne herself.
There is some bad news in this message just a few days before Christmas,
i.e. Blue Cross are not paying for Elizabeth Bishop’s hospitalization,
because she appears not to have held a policy from them at the time
of her illness.
1971 starts off with a rather vexed and tongue-in-the-cheek answer
by Roxanne to Mr. Wright who, as she ironically remarks, has not
got it and her right! Yes. Miss Bishop is expected to pay for the
famous typewriter to be removed; she, Roxanne Cumming, will be arriving
in Massachusetts with only her son, her typewriter, and her brown
coat; she will start her teaching at Wellesley (a college for girls,
as it still is, while Harvard has long stopped admitting only males
students) and wants her stuff in place in due course, failing which,
nothing will ever dissuade her from considering Mr. Wright “a
hard man.” To this letter of January 4 the answer sent on
January 7 suggests with the same quantity as well as quality of
irony that a cheap Greyhound transport could be a solution for poor
Roxanne! February 4: A US $ 450.00 cheque received by Roxanne at
Wellesley College from Elizabeth Bishop suggests that the account
has been settled. There will be no further replies from the vocal
typewriter owner.
A new series of letters is inaugurated by Alice Methfessel’s
investigations on Miss Bishop’s behalf regarding a more settled
habitation. March 24: Alice approaches one Mrs. Berger to inquire
if 60 Brattle Street in Cambridge could host the poet-teacher who
is staying on at Harvard. To pave her and the poet’s way to
this new abode Alice describes Miss Bishop as “a distinguished
poet,” winner of the 1970 National Book Award for Poetry,
after the Pulitzer Prize in the 50’s, a “very talented
painter” and a “gracious, charming, amusing lady.”
Mention is expressly made of Bishop’s decision to sell off
her property in Brazil and settled won in the States. This is confirmed
by a small add item in the Saturday Review (New York) of May 28,
in which the poet’s house features for sale.
A set of letters cover Miss Bishop’s preparations and Miss
Methfessel’s assiduous assistance aiming at a secure, smooth,
and peaceful move to 60 Brattle Street # 205. The keys to the flat
are with Alice. Elizabeth is due back on September 2 or 3. A letter
of June 29 from one Mr. Clapp, a Rockport oculist, informs “dear
Mrs. Bishop” that the left lens in her spectacles will have
to be replaced and that she can collect her glasses when she returns,
but could she please, via her “daughter,” send him word
about whether she wants her lens replaced immediately or whether
it is OK for her to collect her glasses herself in early September.
Alice mistaken for Bishop’s daughter gives some indication
of the age difference between the two women – Bishop was 60
in 1971 – as it does in terms of their most likely being seen
in each other’s company on some kind of regular basis.
Meanwhile City Transfer fail to meet their customers’ requirements
or even commonsensical expectations, as we are led to understand
from a letter sent them in a fit of fury by Alice, on July 14, complaining
about the delay in shipping miss Bishop’s things. The following
day City Transfer are happy to report that their client’s
stuff has been shipped to 60 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass. Jul
17: A cable from Belo Horizonte addressed to Alice ends with “loved
Elizabeth.” Two days later Alice loses her temper at City
Transfer asking for Roxanne’s stuff to be paid by Elizabeth.
Jealousy? The typewriter she uses seems to skip spaces at times.
Fate? August 16: City Transfer confirm the last details of the whole
shipment.
Bishop’s new fall term at Harvard is recorded in the Kirkland
House record. There she features as a 1934 A.B. graduate from Vassar
and a 1969 L.L.D. from Smith that is, from one of the lawyers whose
offices have dealt with her moving. Her presence on campus seems
very successful and on November 15 Martin Peretz, on behalf of the
Signet Society in Cambridge, takes pleasure in inviting her at the
101st Annual Dinner, where she is expected to read a poem, and where
the speaker will be none else but Sir Isaiah Berlin! December 21:
Milton Katz, Director of International Legal Studies thanks her
for having accepted to participate in the yearly ceremony to be
crowned by a luncheon hosted by the celebrated Fogg Museum.
January 3, 1972: Bishop apologises to Mr. Conrad W. Oberdorfer from
Boston for having asked a second time to be sent the Robert Peterson
manuscript as part of her recommendation for the winner of the Amy
Lowell Travelling Fellowship. She has certainly opted for this poet
to whom travelling will definitely do good! January 72: Bishop complains
to Michael Schmitt about her condition after more hospital days
and proudly reports that she has stopped smoking cigars! She wants
to see a translation from Pessoa and acknowledges having finished
the Brazilian poetry anthology that she has been working on for
some time. Also she congratulates Schmitt on his recently founded
Carcanet Press. January 7: Elizabeth Bishop is sorry to have delayed
answering the invitation sent by Peretz for the Annual Dinner at
Harvard. Reason: she has recently been in hospital again.
Two recent studies dedicated to Elizabeth Bishop refer to Alice
Methfessel. Brett Covendish Millier’s Ph.D. dissertation entitled
Elizabeth Bishop: Life and the Memory of It (Stanford University,
1986) notices that at Harvard the poet had made friends with an
energetic young lady, administrative assistant at Kirkland, that
the two of them took trips to the Galapagos Islands Sweden, Norway,
and the Soviet Union, to Greece, and American university towns,
and that when Elizabeth moved to Boston this young lady also moved
and managed her affairs and correspondence. George Monteiro (ed.),
Conversations with Elizabeth Bishop (University Press of Mississippi,
Jackson, 1996) takes a note of one Mildred J. Nashe presenting Alice
Methfessel as a dear person to the poet, in fact, “her friend.”
Nashe, apparently, had given Bishop a hand with cleaning and setting
her library in order, feeling very happy indeed to be presented
by the local and national celebrity with old books, a can-opener,
and other odds and ends! Among other things, she had been offered
two cans of grapefruit juice which Elizabeth Bishop and Alice Methfessel
had bought in view of a trip to Maine in the summer!
In the Kirkland House box containing the Bishop stuff that I have
tried to decrypt there were successive hand- and typewritten versions
of “Breath,” one of the “Four Poems” included
in Cold Spring (1955). Not little of the charm, wisdom, and irony
of this short poem resides in the odd spacing achieved with the
help of the poet’s typewriter. From the correspondence we
have decoded we learn that she had acquired works by Loren McIver,
the painter who, together with her husband, the writer Lloyd Frankenberg,
had introduced her to John Dewey. We can also conclude more emphatically
on Bishop’s health problems, some caused by heavy drinking
and cigar smoking. As for the type of writers she favoured, other
than the canonicals she had venerated (Wordsworth, Hopkins, Shakespeare,
Poe, Shelley, Whitman, and, more recently, Stevens, Jarrell, and
Lowell, and, of course, Marianne Moore (the other possibly gay connection)),
she seems to have favoured people in love with travelling and the
beauties of varying geography. For one thing, her Geography III
volume of 1971 – full Harvard and Kirkland House years –
is dedicated to Alice Methfessel. The latter’s love-and-hate
relation to typewriters, a special human type, and writers may be
clad in a mantle of radiant light now, and shine the more lucidly
sour, for that matter.
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