Key West, Florida – The Key West Literary Seminar will present a series of lectures, films, discussions, and community events that explore Elizabeth Bishop’s work in the context of Key West and the momentous impact she continues to have on readers around the world. The events will take place in Key West during the inaugural Elizabeth Bishop Celebration set for Monday through Saturday, Feb. 3-8.

Key West Literary Seminar will present a series of lectures, films, discussions, and community events that explore Elizabeth Bishop’s work in the context of Key West and the momentous impact she continues to have on readers around the world. The events will take place in Key West during the inaugural Elizabeth Bishop Celebration Feb. 3-8. Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Bishop Papers, Vassar College Libraries

The series begins at 6 pm on February 3 at the Tropic Cinema with a conversation between Executive Director and Key West Poet Laureate Arlo Haskell and Florida Keys Audubon Society Director Mark Hedden. Jumping off from Bishop’s poem, “Seascape,” with its “white herons got up as angels,” Haskell and Hedden will primarily explore Bishop’s interest in local and indigenous birds.

On February 6, beginning at 1 pm, Tropic Cinema will host a screening of the 2015 feature documentary Welcome to This House, which explores Bishop’s ‘best loved homes’ in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. The film was directed by independent cinema icon Barbara Hammer, whose research was partially conducted while she was an artist-in-residence at The Studios of Key West.

At 6 pm on February 7, Thomas Travisano will speak at Old City Hall about his new biography, Love Unknown: The Life and Worlds of Elizabeth Bishop. A question-and-answer session and book signing will follow. Travisano is a lifelong student of Elizabeth Bishop, the founding president of the Elizabeth Bishop Society, and editor of the acclaimed Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.

The celebration culminates on February 8, the 109th anniversary of Elizabeth Bishop’s birth. A proclamation by Mayor Teri Johnston and the City Commission will recognize “Elizabeth Bishop Day” throughout the City of Key West.

At 11 am on February 8, Haskell and Travisano will join poet Emily Schulten and leading Bishop scholars, including Bethany Hicok of Williams College, David Hoak, and Barbara Page of Vassar College, for a roundtable discussion called “North & South: Key West in Elizabeth Bishop’s Life and Art.” The discussion will take place in the living room of Bishop’s former Key West home, 624 White Street. Following the roundtable discussion, the Bishop House will be open to the public for tours from 12–2 pm. This marks the first time the home has been open to the public for viewing.

Rounding out “Elizabeth Bishop Day,” a birthday celebration and poetry reading, hosted by Malcolm Willison and the Elizabeth Bishop Key West Committee, will begin at 4:30 pm at Key West Theater.

Key West Literary Seminar acquired the former home of the celebrated American poet in November. Located at 624 White Street on the edge of the historic Old Town district, the home was built in 1886 in the two-story “eyebrow” style. Bishop once descriped its distinctive lines as “the most elegant thing in Key West.” It was designated a National Literary Landmark in 1993.

The United States Poet Laureate in 1949-50, Bishop owned a home in Key West from 1938-46 and was inspired to write many of the poems for her pivotal first book, North & South, during her time on the island.

For a full schedule of events, visit kwls.org/eb2020. To learn more about Elizabeth Bishop and Key West Literary Seminar’s plans for it, visit www.kwls.org/bishop.

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