Emma FitzGerald (BEDS’06, MArch’08) is the illustrator of a book based on the childhood of poet Elizabeth Bishop who spent time in Great Village, N.S. A fan of Bishop’s work, Fitzgerald did a residency at The Elizabeth Bishop House. Her first book, Hand Drawn Halifax, won several awards and accolades. 

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Rita Wilson knew nothing about Elizabeth Bishop until 10 years ago, although she was an English major and an avid reader. Today, she’s the author of a children’s book about the writer.
“I thought maybe it was because I hadn’t gone to school in Nova Scotia that I didn’t know about her, but my daughter went to school here and hadn’t heard of her either,” said Wilson, who now lives in Caribou River.
“I discovered her by chance and now I’m a complete Bishop-phile. I’ve read a lot of her work and I love her poetry. In a way it’s very plain, but also very deep.”

Though born in Massachusetts, Elizabeth Bishop spent time, as a young child, living with her grandparents in Great Village during the early 1900s. She later became a respected poet and had many fond memories of her time in Nova Scotia.

Read more in “New book captures a piece of Elizabeth Bishop’s childhood” on trurodaily.com.