Elizabeth Bishop - Prose

I was always anti-communist, I believe — after one or two John Reed Club affairs. I don’t know whether this was due to my intelligence (No — not intelligence — just instinct and snobbery—) or what — but all the really “red” girls at college (one is taken off cruelly, but very comically in “The Group”) I found too silly — and now they’re the real rich conservatives, in general.

But — before the war — we knew much muchless. The purges in the 30’s were what opened most people’s eyes, of course. Here now it is dreadful for me to see young men I know making the same mistake that US intellectuals were making around 1930. How they can is hard to see. — They seem totally unaware of recent history. But Brazil is unbelievably provincial, and also one of its greatest drawbacks to any kind of maturity, I’m afraid, is that it has never been through a war. However — nothing here is explainable in terms that apply in the U S. — But believe me — things are very bad herenow, and I may have to leave. Or Lota and I may finally choose to—

Rio, March 23rd, 1964

Dear Anne:

I’ll enclose the fragments of a letter I did write you over a month ago, just to show you I tried. Many things have kept me from answering properly; guests, partly, but mostly I think the political situation, that is keeping everyone on edge now and which, because of Lota’s job and her close connections with the State government in Rio, I can’t forget for a moment. I made tentative reservations to go to England by boat next month, just for a breathing spell, — but just today we have decided to go to Milan in May for the Triennale May 20th we want to see — then I’ll probably stay on and go to England for a month or six weeks alone. Perhaps I’ll be able to see you there then? I think I’ll be visiting friends in Sussex, but staying mostly in London — and perhaps go to Edinburgh, since I have never seen it & want to.

I’m sending back the Chronology pages and I hope you can read my corrections. You have it mostly right, however. Somewhere along the line I had an Amy Lowell Travelling Fellowship and now I have a Chapelbrook — have had it for over two years but haven’t been able to make any use of it yet. I’m also a member of the Institute of Arts & Letters — but I’m not sure of the date. Although I’m always grateful for all the money I’ve received — considering how little I have accomplished — I feel that none of these names and awards really means too much — however they’ll help fill your page … I’ve answered your questions, too, in a garrulous way — a lot of what I’ve said you don’t need at all, but I’ll let it go because perhaps anything that contributes an “atmosphere” will help you with the writing? I am appalled at how narrow, petty, gloomy, masochistic, even, this kind of condensation of my “life” sounds — but of course I’m sure you know there’s more to life than an outline! — This is just the sketchiest of armatures, really, leaving out so many friends, people, places, events — false beginnings, retreats, mistakes, and so [on].

Yes, quote my remarks on Darwin if you like. I think I said to you, when you asked about Dr. Williams, that one of his poems I admire is “Asphodel, that greeny flower…”? Well, I re-read it the other day and was surprised to see he mentions Darwin, too — not in my sense at all, but he says, “But Darwin / opened our eyes / to the gardens of the world…” I really just got off on Darwin because of my readings about Brazil when I first came here; his first encounter with the “tropics” was on the outskirts of Rio and a lot he says in his letters home about the city and country is still true. Then I became very fond of his writing in general — his book on Coral Island is a beauty, if ever you have a long stretch to read in, — specialized but beautifully worked out. It seems to me that in the world of hate and horror we all inhabit that contemporary artists and writers, some of the “action painters” (although I like them, too), the “beats,” the wildest musicians, etc. — have somehow missed the point — that the real expression of tragedy, or just horror and pathos, lies exactly in man’s ability to construct, to use form. The exquisite form of a tubercular Mozart, say, is more profoundly moving than any wild electronic wail & tells more about that famous “human condition” … But this is an idea it has probably been beyond my gifts to express in poetry.

I hesitate to suggest any reading to you since I know you must be burdened with lots of things — and perhaps you’d rather not get into such subjects — but I think that Arnold Hauser’s “The Philosophy of Art History” in the chapter called “Psychoanalysis & Art”, makes a lot of good clear points about romanticism, neurosis, what’s neurotic & what isn’t in art, and so on, — and the relationship of an artist’s life to his work.

I feel rather foolish using all these words in any connection with myself. Imagine how it must have felt to be Tennyson, to be a “bard”—It is hard to know how one should feel certainly, and for me the solution most of the time has been to forget all about it. That is not altogether right — on the other hand I dislike very much the romantic self-pity and sense of privilege I feel in some poet friends.

(Forgive this typing — I have three machines of different ages — but even the newest is already rusting in this climate. Then when I switch from one to the other I make more mistakes than usual, too)

I hope you are feeling better. I’m having copies made of a few snapshots to send you next week — mostly Samambaia (that’s the name of the place in Petrópolis — means “giant fern”. The actual name of the hillside we’re on eis Sitio da Alcobaçinha, “Little Alcobáça”—that’s a favorite name here, not original with us — after Alcobaça in Portugal.) — I am very fond of cats, too (I’m going through your last paragraph) and have always had them, even if they do give me asthma — a bit — dogs do too much to attempt. I’ll send a picture of Tobias if I can find the negative — he’s thirteen now, very handsome — also a clever if not very “good” Siamese, and a Bebe Daniels — style angora who recently died and was buried under the orange tree. I have cats in the country and birds in the city — practical solutions being best. I had a toucan, Sammy, for six years — (but in the country) — and a wonderful funny bird I adored, with eyes like blue neon lights and that huge beak. I’m fond of pets, and babies up till three … I say this because we have just had a friend with two little daughters, 11 months and 3 years, here all week, and so I know how demanding child-care is, & all about colds and shots and earaches, etc. The little one slept in my room and what I really liked best about her was the way she was quite willing to stay awake for hours in the middle of the night, standing up and chattering away at me agreeably. That’s [indecipherable] age. After three comes an age I don’t like — then they improve.

I am sorry I’ve been so slow replying — I should acknowledge your letters even if I can’t answer them right away, so you’ll know whether I got them or not, at least. We have just had two hours warning— ththere’ll be no water for 48 hours. This kind of thing is very common — at one point recently we had no water, no light, and no gas. The light was off for two hours only, every night, and since we were lucky enough to have an electric skillet we managed; until the gas co. strike was over — most of the wretched city ate cold food. But we’ll be going up to Petrópolis for a long Easter weekend, thank heavens. It is incredibly beautiful here — and so hopeless — imagine the million or more favela (slum) dwellers here these two days — no water — all those babies. But I shouldn’t add to your own troubles—