POEMS: North and South & A Cold Spring

by Elizabeth Bishop ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 14, 1955

This is first of all a republication of a former book of verses North and South which many will recall for its witty and incisive sensitivity. To these are added a group, A Cold Spring, some of which will be recognized by readers of The New Yorker and Harpers Busaar, where they originally appeared. Miss Bishop, though less gifted than Marianne Moore, belongs roughly speaking to her ilk. Extremely sensitive, attuned chiefly to the shape, color, odor of things, having what she herself calls in one of the best poems ""a priceless set of vocabularies"", she manages to create an illusive, intangible air of the metaphysical from her fastidious notation of sensuous objects. She seems preoccupied with two things,- seascapes from Cape Breton to the Caribbean; and all things frowsy and down at the heel. While who is undoubtedly greatly gifted, something is lacking. One wonders what her sensibility is all about. There is absence of substance. This volume will be welcomed by those who have followed her with pleasure, and by all who scout the American scene for real poetic talent.

Pub Date: July 14, 1955

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1955

Categories: NONFICTION