Rare and Commonplace Flowers: The Story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares [Paperback]

Carmen Oliveira (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2003

A Stonewall Honor Book of the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table "Rare and Commonplace Flowers performs an invaluable service: unforgettably memorializing the remarkable Lota de Macedo Soares, and in the process filling in a crucial gap in Bishop's biography. This book honors a deeply moving love between two brilliant women: each highly public, a celebrity in her own nation; each deeply private, and happy (for a time) in the fragile heaven of their home."-The New York Times Book Review "As a portrait of Lota and Bishop in Brazil, Rare and Commonplace Flowers is a rare and illuminating book."-Women's Review of Books "Novelist Oliveira's engaging dual biography tells of [Bishop and Soares's] 'long and sad' relationship. . . . This book offers a new perspective on the American poet, and the love story between these two women is undeniably intense and tragic. Recommended."-Library Journal Rare and Commonplace Flowers tells the story of two fascinating and controversial women. Elizabeth Bishop, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, sought artistic inspiration in Brazil. There she fell in love with Lota de Macedo Soares, a self-trained Brazilian architect. This dual biography-brilliantly researched, and written in a lively, novelistic style-follows their relationship from 1951 to 1967, the time when the two lived together in Brazil. A tale of two artists and two cultures, Rare and Commonplace Flowers offers unique perspectives on both women and their work. Carmen L. Oliveira provides an unparalleled level of detail and insight, due to both her familiarity with Brazil and her access to the country's artistic elite, many of whom had a direct connection with Bishop and Soares. Rare pictures of the two artists and their home bring this unique story to life. Carmen L. Oliveira is a Brazilian novelist. Neil K. Besner is a professor in the English department at the University of Winnipeg in Canada.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

At age 40, the celebrated American poet Elizabeth Bishop met and fell in love with a Brazilian woman named Lota de Macedo Soares. The two lived together in Brazil from 1951 to 1967. Novelist Oliveira's engaging dual biography tells of their "long and sad" relationship. Because most of the letters between the lovers were destroyed, Oliveira fills in conversations and personal scenes with a novelistic touch that may irritate those looking for a more precise reconstruction of events. Furthermore, Oliveira, a Brazilian herself, tends to focus heavily on Lota, "a marvel and a terror" whose obsessive desire to fight through Brazilian bureaucracy to build a landmark park in Rio de Janeiro ruined her health and her relationship with Bishop. By contrast, Bishop's personality is much less fully rendered. Nevertheless, this book offers a new perspective on the American poet, and the love story between these two women is undeniably intense and tragic. Recommended for academic collections. Amy Strong, South Portland, ME
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"As a portrait of Lota and Bishop in Brazil, Rare and Commonplace Flowers is a rare and illuminating book." -- The Women's Review of Books

"Rare and Commonplace Flowers honors a deeply moving love between two brilliant women." -- The New York Times Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (August 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813533597
• ISBN-13: 978-0813533599
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,240,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last, in English!, February 17, 2002

By 

Julia Michaels (Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rare and Commonplace Flowers: The Story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares (Hardcover)

This book is a treasure, a delightful read. It speaks to a broad range of interests. Fans of Elizabeth Bishop will enjoy learning about her relationship with Lota and her experiences during the 17 years she lived in Brazil. If you are interested in Brazilian history and politics, you will find a rare account of the early sixties in Rio de Janeiro, as the country headed toward military dictatorship. It is also a marvelous and tragic love story.

As an American living in Brazil for the past 20 years, I found it a fascinating account of how Lota and her country provided a haven for Bishop, an orphan prone to writer's block and alcoholism. Rare and Commonplace Flowers, read in addition to Bishop's letters, opens a whole new window on her writing. Ever since I read the original in Portuguese, in 1995, I have been convinced that it merits the attention of non-Portuguese speakers. Thanks to the excellent translation of Neil Besner, you've got it!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plesasurable reading, March 9, 2002

By 

rosiska darcy oliveira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rare and Commonplace Flowers: The Story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares (Hardcover)

Rare and Commonplace Flowers innovates in the scholarly field. A carefully documented biography, it reconstructs step by step the story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares.Carmen Oliveira's literary achievement lies in conveying this research of undeniable academid value in a very agreeable piece of storytelling.A must for Women's Studies, the book is recommended to anyone who enjoys a good read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Rare and Commonplace Flowers:The Story of Elizabeth Bishop & Lota de Marcedo Soares, February 25, 2011

By 

Ingrid A. Lisauskas - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Rare and Commonplace Flowers: The Story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares (Hardcover)

This was a good read (187 pgs) giving one an understanding of the strong bond between two remarkable women: one an American poet and the other a Brazilian landscape architect. I never would have heard about Lota and what she did for the building of Flamengo Park in Rio de Janerio (similar to Central Park in NY) had it not been for an article about her in Garden Design magazine Garden Design (1-year auto-renewal). This book shares an inside look at these two women, their circle of friends and acquaintances, and their struggles both personal and professional within their selected fields.