Geography III: Poems [Paperback]

Elizabeth Bishop (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0374514402 | ISBN-13: 978-0374514402 | Publication Date: April 1, 1978 | Edition: First Edition

Geography III, Bishop's final book of poems, first appaered in 1976. It contains such masterpieces as "In the Waiting Room," "The Moose," and "One Art."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The extraordinary thing about Miss Bishop is that she is both a public and a private poet, or perhaps it is that her poetry by its very existence renders obsolete these after all artificial distinctions (artificial insofar as poetry is concerned). The private self--the quirkiness, the rightness of vision, the special sights and events (a moose, a filling station) that have intrigued Miss Bishop to the point of poetry--melts imperceptibly into the large utterance, the grandeur of poetry, which, because it remains rooted in everyday particulars, never sounds 'grand,' but is as quietly convincing as honest speech."--John Ashbery

"For over forty years, Elizabeth Bishop's immaculately wrought poems have earned her the reputation of a poet's poet. With its calmly circumspect being and elegant finish, deploying space in formally perfect patterns, each small portfolio of work resembles classical architecture."--Herbert Leibowitz, The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

The modern American poet Elizabeth Bishop (1911-79) received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Nation Book Critics' Circle Award, and many other distinctions and accolades for her work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 50 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition (April 1, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374514402
• ISBN-13: 978-0374514402
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where you are, February 13, 2007

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Geography III: Poems (Paperback)

"Geography III" was Elizabeth Bishop's final volume of poetry, and it was published only a few years before her death. Sadly this is not her best work, but it's still a vivid, colourful collection of poetry, which focuses on little interactions and striking memories.

It opens with Bishop reminiscing about a dental appointment as a child, and how she read National Geographic to keep herself amused. But these mundane things fall away as Bishop is hit by the shocking quality of the world: "I said to myself: three days/and you'll be seven days old./I was saying it to stop/the sensation of falling off/the round turning world..."

The poems that follow are just as locked in Bishop's own world: her tiny island with its fifty-two volcanoes, poisonous cities, a New Brunswick bus' passengers spotting a moose, a beloved town full of familiar things, a warrior's perspective on an ashtray, a late winter walk on the beach, and about how "the art of losing isn't hard to master."

Very suitably, "Geography III" feels like a last collection of poetry. Many of the poems are reflective of her own dreams and thoughts, and of her childhood in Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. No looking around in this one, only back -- and in a way, that means the zest is gone from her poetry.

Bishop is still very vivid and observant, describing the red silt and clapboard houses of Canada, the enormity of small things for a little kid, or the "tiny volcanoes" on her tiny island. Some are rambling descriptions of her daily life ("The rackety, icy, offshore wind/numbed our faces on one side/disrupted the formation/of a lone flight of Canada geese..."), given a poignant beauty.

But she also tries out some odder stuff occasionally, such as the charmingly offbeat "One Art ("Lose something every day. Accept the fluster/of lost door keys") or the surreal office battlefields of "12 O'Clock News." And it finishes up with a chilly, early-morning poem about a dog, that ends with, "Yesterday brought to today so lightly!/(A yesterday I find almost impossible to lift)."

"Geography III" was a suitable farewell for a brilliant poet -- lots of vivid imagery, poignant reminiscing, and the occasional quirky little poem about losing keys.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very god variety of quality poems. A fantastic author!, December 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Geography III: Poems (Paperback)

This book has some very high quality poems. Although all of them are not prize winners, Bishop uses incredible imagery, wording, and rythm to create her piece. I believe that more of Bishop's work should be included in the classic poetry curiculum.