Rare and Commonplace Flowers: The Story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares
At age 40, the celebrated American poet Elizabeth Bishop met and fell in love with a Brazilian woman named Lota de Macedo Soares. The two lived together in Brazil from 1951 to 1967. Novelist Oliveira's engaging dual biography tells of their "long and sad" relationship. Because most of the letters between the lovers were destroyed, Oliveira fills in conversations and personal scenes with a novelistic touch that may irritate those looking for a more precise reconstruction of events. Furthermore, Oliveira, a Brazilian herself, tends to focus heavily on Lota, "a marvel and a terror" whose obsessive desire to fight through Brazilian bureaucracy to build a landmark park in Rio de Janeiro ruined her health and her relationship with Bishop. By contrast, Bishop's personality is much less fully rendered. Nevertheless, this book offers a new perspective on the American poet, and the love story between these two women is undeniably intense and tragic. Recommended for academic collections. Amy Strong, South Portland, MECopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.