Elizabeth Bishop Research Paper

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Pages: 3

As an orphaned, mentally-ill, lesbian artist, Elizabeth Bishop wrote her way into the hearts of America through her profound poetry during the twentieth century. Elizabeth Bishop was born on February 8, 1911 in Worcester, Massachusetts as the only child of Gertrude Boomer and William Bishop (“Elizabeth Bishop.”). By the time Bishop was only five years old, she had lost both of her parents forever; her father passed away from illness and her mother was permanently institutionalized for mental instability (Tyrkus). Bishop found peace and security with her maternal grandparents in Nova Scotia for the next few year, but her paternal grandparents refused to allow their only granddaughter to grow up in poor, rural Canada (Greiner). By uprooting the young girl and moving her to Massachusetts, the Bishop’s provided Elizabeth with an elite education at Walnut Hills School for Girls and boundless resources in exchange for leaving the only home she’d ever known (Barry). Thus, Bishop’s lifetime of temporary residence began, as did her dedicated search for a place to call home. …show more content…
There, she began creating herself as a writer with the influence and encouragement of the Vassar community, specifically poet Marianne Moore who would become a lifelong friend of Bishop’s (Greiner). Additionally, Bishop made a life-changing discovery about her identity during her time at Vassar: her passion for women. After falling “desperately, hopelessly in love with her roommate,” Bishop struggled with accepting her sexuality, but eventually faced the fact that she was a lesbian