One Art

by Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Giroux (Editor)

From several thousand letters, written over fifty years - from 1928, when she was seventeen, to the day of her death, in Boston in 1979 - Robert Giroux has selected over five hundred and has written a detailed and informative introduction. One Art takes us behind Bishop's formal sophistication and reserve, displaying to the full the gift for friendship, the striving for perfection, and the passionate, questing, rigorous spirit that made her a great poet.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Writing, Biography Memoir, Classics

704 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and writer from Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956. and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. She is considered one of the most important and distinguished American poets of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Phyllis]

One Art

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

[Evoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

"One Art" is officially one of my favorite contemporary poems.

[Erin Malone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that brings out the compulsive side of me. I read every letter--even the most mundane, and there were many of those: doctor's visits, housekeeping, etc. Since Bishop is among my favorite poets, I was compelled to read everything, not wanting to miss a shred of her life story. The letters work like puzzles; we have only Bishop's, so we have to piece together what she's responding to. That's partly what's so interesting. As with any real person, though, there are sides of her we don't particularly like to see, including racist, elitist attitudes. I was reminded of that saying about heroes--sometimes it's better not to meet them. Overall, though, this comprehensive account is worthy for that idea, exactly: here is Bishop's character, well-developed, rounded, whom we like and dislike at times, and whose loves and losses matter.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three months, 541 letters, and 639 pages later — EB was terrified of reading in front of a crowd, loved cats, and had a ping-pong table in her dining room. She wrote to her friends about everything from flowers and books to architecture and her pet toucan Sammy. During a visit to St. John’s in 1932 she wrote: “The streets and houses all fall down toward the water — apparently supported on the masts of the sealers and schooners below.” I’ll miss reading these letters before bed — I think I’ll keep it on my bedside table just in case.

[HR Habibur Rahman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

যা কিছু মনে হয় হারালে খুব কষ্ট হবে আসলে ততোটা হয়না। কিছু কিছু জিনিস হারানো ভালো বরং 😇

পুরা বই মেলা বড়। যাস্ট কবিতাটা পড়ছি। 😑

[Sadia Mansoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

[Nicholas Zorich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Bishop's young adult poem, One Art, Bishop uses symbolism to beautifully discuss the theme of loss and the way in which individuals can recognize and build from them. I personally enjoyed this poem and the meaning I took away from it may be different than how others interpret it. This is one of the beauties in poetry and literature is the reality that it can be analyzed and interpreted in entirely new ways based on how it is written and One Art is certainly one of these poems.

Poetry

[Cherry Ma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed EB's poems, particularly for their cool objectivity, their calm impersonality, and their resistance to the confessional style. EB's letters provide a rare glimpse of her struggles with health and loneliness, her tender passions with Lota, and how she coped with Lota's illness and death.

[Mary Thelma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It´s evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster."

Just worthwhile. A must!

[Rُumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The type of book you keep beside your night stand and get back to it , can not say more.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I only read "One Art", a poem about losing things. You start off small and build up and these things don't matter "the art of losing’s not too hard to master". Although, they do matter and especially losing people, it can be a disaster. Short but clever poem.

[Susan Eubank · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I liked best was her telling of all the poets collected letters she read and then toward the end she advised a would be poet to do that to learn, somewhat, how to write poetry.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cry evry time

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading letters by poets, it's like bonus poetry.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t read anywhere near all of course—mostly just the late forties. Bishop as a writer with those interactions interests me. Her private life—nah

[carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for class —
had to read this poem and write a paper on it so i’m intimately familiar with the subject matter and could probably recite it for you. i’m not a fan of poems, but i actually kind of liked this one.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of letters, but since this is the first letter collection I've ever read, I have nothing against which to compare it. It's a very long book and can't really be swallowed up with so much speed, but it commands a daily interest with its numerous pieces of beauty, wit, and quotable lines that make this volume a treasury. The amalgamation has a magical quality that can't encourage you to keeping reading since it’s not evident until you've reached the finish line--and then, you feel like you've held an author's entire life. You feel that this book is somebody's entire world--their legacy--thier art--a testament to the qualities of life which pass before we know them.

[Chess via Email · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still don't like her or her asshead high school (I had to pump sixteen inches of water out of a basement there last night and am sitting in the basement of her old dorm as I write this (I think)), but a lifetime of letters is almost always an incredible thing. This set got me very interested in Marianne Moore.

P.S. I think the choice of last letter was unfortunate--even if it was written on the day of her death.

P.P.S. She didn't like Charlotte's Web?!?!?!

P.P.P.S. They engraved an E.E. Cummings poem on the stone outside of the brand new Walnut Hill Elizabeth Bishop dormitory. It's a hilarious choice since she didn't like him (she says so in one of the letters written towards the end of her life).

-Please forgive the pettiness of this review-

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bishop's favorite show was Sesame Street. This is only one of the many amazing things I found out. While there are long sad sections, many of these letters contain hilarious asides and comments. Her descriptions of Brazil and the many other places she traveled make me want to get on a plane immediately. I love reading this book, and the David Kalstone is a great companion book that explains a lot of biographical details, as well as critically dissecting Bishop's relationships with Moore and Lowell. Quick, someone, write me a letter.

[Mert · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Stars (%56/100)

Elizabeth Bishop’s One Art is a masterfully constructed villanelle that explores the theme of loss with controlled grace and emotional restraint. Through a tone that balances irony and sorrow, Bishop gradually deepens the stakes—from misplacing keys to losing a loved one—until the poem’s formal rigor nearly collapses under the weight of personal grief. While the poem is undeniably skillful and layered, its emotional subtlety may leave a cooler impression, resonating more with readers who appreciate form and understatement over overt sentiment.

[Rochelle Melander · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many years, I have loved the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop. I was delighted to find this riveting collection of her letters. Kirkus reviews said this about the carefully selected collection of letters: "More spontaneous, garrulous, and revealing than her published poetry or prose, ... " The letters offer an intimate portrait of the writer, her struggles with health and loneliness, her great love for her partner Lola, and fascinating details about her daily life.

[Gord Higginson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently still reading (and have been since Jan 2011)--appropriate time to read her selected letters as Bishop was born 100 years ago! I have been browse-reading this hefty tome since Jan., meaning I just look through it every now and then and read some letters, usually a few times a week, rather than reading it from beginning to end in one go. Fascinating letters.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not sure how long it will take me to finish the book but the letters are compelling. I am in Bishop's early years now and can't wait to see how she will craft her correspondence as she matures. Obviously a woman who knew how to bring out the best in a language.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good as far as letters go. The ones between her and "Cal" (Robert Lowell) are the most interesting.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great poet and very interesting woman - learning how difficult it is for brilliant talent to survive and flourish.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

not exactly a bio, but a fascinating collection of letters from two seminal 20th century poets.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

I just read her unpublished poems in a new edition: Edgar Allen Poe and the Jukebox. Also fantastic

[Celeste]

I started reading this for an Poetry Writing Workshop

[Statmanm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe best for THE EB fan. But in here is so much deep knowledge not only on the art of reading and writing poetry but the art of understanding how one is living wholly in that lived moment.

[Deb W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for anyone entranced by the world of literature and artists.