"The Voice of the Poet"

Listen to rare recordings of "The Fish," "In the Waiting Room" and "The Moose" by Elizabeth Bishop.

Nov 27, 2001 | This installment in the "Voice of the Poet" series -- a series comprising rare archival recordings, some never before released -- features the acclaimed Elizabeth Bishop.

Although she wrote less than many of her peers, the evident mastery of her poems secured for Elizabeth Bishop a leading position in American letters. Praised from the start for their descriptive surfaces -- their clarity, wittily observed details and tonal control -- Bishop's poems reveal dark, abiding mysteries.

Bishop mostly refused to allow recordings of her work. Still, the archives have yielded a rare and generous series of readings, released here for the first time. These recordings will enthrall her many fans and illuminate her poetry.

The audio production is accompanied by a book containing the text to the poems and a commentary by J.D. McClatchy.

Listen to Elizabeth Bishop read "The Fish," "In the Waiting Room" and "The Moose," courtesy of Random House Audio.

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