Vassar Library Exhibit to Honor Elizabeth Bishop

According to this article from The Miscellany News, the Thompson Memorial Library gallery space at Vassar College will hold an exhibit honoring Vassar alum Elizabeth Bishop:

Glass cases containing reams of handwritten notes, with many scribbled corrections, flank the Thompson Memorial Library gallery space. These old, yellowing pages give a never-before-seen insight into the work of one of the country's most celebrated poets and a much-loved Vassar alumna: Elizabeth Bishop '34. The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 15th.

And, later, on how the materials for the exhibit were gathered:

There are numerous celebrations being held to commemorate Bishop's 100th birthday; many of these are taking place in New York City itself. "We have the largest repository of Bishop's papers in the world, so we had to observe this anniversary in a way that honored her special connection to Vassar," said Patkus. The unique exhibit features her manuscripts and drafts of her work, her publications, her journals and her correspondences. For example, the exhibit begins with an original copy of one of Bishop's unpublished poems and her letters to poet Robert Lowell. Weaved amid Bishop's work are the books of ten other authors. These scholars wrote anthologies, biographies and other such retrospectives that investigate Bishop's work, life and widespread influence.

Each utilized Vassar's extensive and impressive archives on Bishop to explore a facet of her life and poetry that enriched their work. "We invited 10 scholars to help curate the exhibition. Through the exhibit, we can meet the scholars, see the work they looked at and their final scholarly output. We can see how Vassar's collection of Elizabeth Bishop's work has helped scholarly study," said Patkus. The books are arranged in chronological order, and the last case holds a rough, work-in-progress draft of another scholarly book. The College also created and released a special catalog meant to accompany and document the exhibit. After a preface and short essay, the catalog proceeds to detail all the works of the exhibit—picturing the content of each display case, listing its authors and conveying other pertinent information. Further accompanying the exhibit are three videos that each feature a Vassar professor from the English Department reading and providing a detailed analysis of three of Bishop's poems. "Having professors give a commentary adds a dynamic aspect to the exhibit as opposed to just having books and other material," said Patkus.

A symposium, featuring Robert Pinsky, will take place on September 24th.