GREAT VILLAGE - There is almost a haunting and reverent feeling when stepping into the house Elizabeth Bishop lived in as a child.
A tour of the Great Village house takes you back in time to when the internationally known poet lived in her grandparents' home in the early 1900s.
An ancient typewriter sits in the living room, not far from a framed picture of a young Bishop. A walk up the steep stairway and a turn to the right brings you to the room Bishop slept in as a child.
Joy Laking, a member of the Elizabeth Bishop Society, said she could almost hear young Elizabeth weeping in her room as her mother screamed elsewhere in the house, referring to her mother's descent into madness after the death of her husband.
"It must have been awful and humiliating to have a mother who was insane," Laking mused, looking around the house, which is now owned by a dozen people. It's often loaned out to writers and artists for short stays and will be open for tours during the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Arts Festival from Aug. 19 to 21.
Laking is one of the festival organizers and believes the event is important to the area for a number of reasons.
"It builds community pride and people interested in prose and poetry come from all over the world to see this house and the community Elizabeth lived in," she said. "But most of us in Nova Scotia don't know a lot about her so it's a fantastic opportunity to know we had this local hero."
Bishop was born Feb. 8, 1911 in Worcester, Ma. and was the only child of William Bishop and Gertrude Bulmer. The early death of her father and resulting mental illness of her mother resulted in Elizabeth spending her early childhood with her maternal grandparents, William and Elizabeth Bulmer, in Great Village at the house just past the one-lane bridge in the community.
In 1918, Bishop moved to Massachusetts to live with relatives but made yearly visits to Nova Scotia. She died on Oct. 6, 1979.
Many of the Pulitzer-winning poet's writings were about her childhood in Great Village and have been translated in more than 25 languages.
Laking encourages people to learn more about Bishop and indulge in the history her legacy adds to the community.
"It's important to remember ... we tend to forget what we have to be proud of and we spend time lamenting what we don't have," she said.
The festival will feature a number of events including a dramatic reading from a play about Bishop presented by Lenore Zann; music; the book launch of Great Village by Mary Rose Donnelly; and writing workshops by Atlantic Canada authors such as Joan Clark, Michael Crummey, Sheree Fitch, Don McKay, Anne Simpson and Sandra Barry.
For complete details on festival events, log onto www.elizabethbishopns.org.
mchiasson@trurodaily.com
A number of events for young and old will be held this month in Great Village to celebrate the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Arts Festival.
Aug. 19 events
- 9 a.m. - Elizabeth Bishop art exhibits and short films at the legion until 7:30 p.m.
- 10 a.m. - Horse and wagon tours until 1 p.m. Walking tours as well at the fire hall parking lot.
- 10 a.m. - Writing competition readings at St. James United Church until 3 p.m.
- 11 a.m. - Elizabeth Bishop house tours until 2 p.m.
- 3:15 p.m. - Book launch of Great Village by Mary Rose Donnelly at St. James
7:30 p.m. - Lenore Zann and Rosalee Peppard perform dramatic readings and songs at St. James
Aug. 20 events
- 8:30 a.m. - Market at St. James until 1:30 p.m.
- 9 a.m. - Writing workshops until noon throughout the village
- 10 a.m. - Historical horse and wagon as well as walking tours. Meet at the fire hall.
- 10 a.m. - Elizabeth Bishop house tours until 1 p.m.
- 10 a.m. - Blacksmith jamboree, cross-cut competition, kettle boil, wooden baot race, barbecue and bake sale all at the Bass River Museum
- 1:30 p.m. - Author readings and interviews until 4:15 at St. James
- 4:15 p.m. - Community supper at St. James
- 7:30 p.m. - Raylene Rankin, Cindy Church and Susan Crowe at St. James
Aug. 21 events
- 10:30 a.m. - Old-time church service at St. James
- 11:30 a.m. - Blueberry tea with Rosalee Peppard at St. James
- 1:30 p.m. - Author readings and interviews until 4:15 p.m. at St. James
- 7:30 p.m. - Musique Royale concert at St. James
