Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop was born in 1911. She was raised by her grandparents. Her father died when she was eigh months old and she had never gotten on with her mather which was mentally ill and spent a lot of time in a psychiatric hospital. Bishop was influenced by other poets and friends (as Marianne Moore and Robert Lowell) and her travels. Thanks to the inheritance from her father, she had an opportunity to experience a lot in, among others, Brasil, where she met Lota de Marcedo Soares with whom she had a romance. It lasted until the suicide of Soares in 1967.

Bishop is not considered to be a confessional poet, which express explicitly their feelings and experiences. Her poetry is rather based on observations. Bishop had never wanted to be percieved as a lesbian or female poet. She wanted to be judged on the basis of the quality of her works. 

[fragment of the poem]
Arrival at Santos

Here is a coast; here is a harbor;
here, after a meager diet of horizon, is some scenery;
impractically shaped and—who knows?—self-pitying mountains,
sad and harsh beneath their frivolous greenery,

with a little church on top of one. And warehouses,
some of them painted a feeble pink, or blue,
and some tall, uncertain palms. Oh, tourist,
is this how this country is going to answer you

and your immodest demands for a different world,
and a better life, and complete comprehension
of both at last, and immediately,
after eighteen days of suspension?*

Bishop wrote this poem after her arrival to Brazil. It is written from an external perspective even though we can probably identify the tourist from the third strophe with the author. I really appreciate the way that she described the settings: self-pitying mountains and frivolous greenery sound great. This poem shows a state of mind of a person that is in the process of travelling. It points out the desire for changes and understanding the world.  

Based on: Wikipedia note and link.

* click here to see the whole poem