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In the cold, cold parlor of Elizabeth Bishop’s “First Death in Nova Scotia,” a child is lifted up to say goodbye to her little cousin Arthur, laid out beneath chromographs of the British royal family and beside a loon shot and stuffed by Arthur’s own father. The title is a small lie: the first death in Nova Scotia was that of Bishop’s father, which she was too young to remember. What the child sees instead is a world sorted into hot and cold, near and far—the brilliantly colored, distant royals; the white, frozen bird keeping its own counsel; red glass eyes “much to be desired.” What does a preserved, aestheticized death invite us to feel, and what does it hold at a distance? Wes & Erin continue their reading of Bishop’s poems.
Upcoming Episodes: “Planet of the Apes” (1968); Graham Greene’s “The Power and the Glory.”
Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail
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Also from Wes: Curtain Times, a calendar of Boston theatre, classical, talks and readings.
