She is the American version of San Mao. On Elizabeth & #183; Bishop's travel poems.

"Don't ask me where I come from. My hometown is far away. Why do I wander? Wandering far away ~ wandering ~ "

When you see the familiar lyrics, do you hear the familiar melody in your mind? The Olive Tree, written by San Mao, was all the rage. Empty and clear, with a touch of sadness, it is very suitable for Sanmao's temperament, and the lyrics are also in line with Sanmao's experience.

Speaking of San Mao, the writer in many people's minds is probably Bai Yueguang. In order to pursue the olive tree in her heart, she traveled to Spain, Germany, the United States and other countries and settled in the Sahara desert for decades. The story of Sahara she wrote has made countless people yearn for it.

The name of San Mao, a wandering writer, is familiar to many people, but when it comes to the name elizabeth bishop, maybe not many people know it. Elizabeth Bishop, a modern American poet, is regarded as one of the most influential female poets in the 20th century after Emily Dickinson.

Her father died when she was a baby. At the age of five, her mother was sent to a mental hospital. In the days that followed, Bishop was raised by his grandparents, uncles and others.

As an adult, she spent most of her time wandering and roaming. She has settled all over the United States and has been to France, Mexico, Brazil and other places. After her old age, she returned to the United States to teach at the invitation of Harvard University. She has the temperament of a poet, and her wandering and writing experiences are similar to those of San Mao of China. I think she is the American version of San Mao.

Recently, I read her collection of poems, Only Loneliness Is as New, and read many exquisite sentences, which I like very much. Her poems are soothing, colorful, restrained, clear and full of personality. Probably because I have traveled abroad all the year round, I know a lot. Her poems have a natural history vision, rich images and novel metaphors, which often make me encounter many wonderful sentences. For example, in Little Sports, she said:

"Think of the storm wandering uneasily in the sky/like a dog looking for a place to sleep,/listening to its roar.

Think of the mall, think of the small palm trees/all tied into bundles and suddenly appear/like a limping fish bone. "

Storms are like roaring dogs, and rows of small palm trees are like limping fishbones. Is it novel, interesting and impressive? Anyway, when I read these two sentences, I can't help but stop, underline and recite them repeatedly.

In The Miracle of Breakfast, she said, "One foot of the sun stands on the long ripples on the river." Is it graphic? When I read this sentence, I thought that when the sun rises, the sun shines on the sparkling river, rippling with golden light. At the same time, I also remembered the legend of the three-legged golden bird in China mythology.

Elizabeth Bishop belongs to a poet. She believes in "a selfless and completely useless concentration", and even spent ten years looking for a good sentence, which is very typical of Jia Dao, an ancient poet in China. Because of this cautious and restrained creative attitude, there are not many poems published in her life, about 100 in total, and her poetry collections are a bit embarrassing. However, after the publication of her first novel, North and South, it caused great repercussions in the literary world.

She has won many famous awards, including Guggenheim Prize (twice), Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, National Book Award, and Newstad International Literature Award. She also worked as a poetry consultant in the Library of Congress (commonly known as the American Poet Laureate) and a poet at Harvard.

It can be said that she is a representative figure of "few but fine" in poetry. The recently read book "Only Loneliness Is Always New" contains most of her poems. I like her poems about travel. From these poems, we can get a glimpse of her experience, insight into the world around her, and her attitude and reflection on travel.

Elizabeth Bishop was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on February 8th,191/. Her father died when she was eight months old. At the age of five, my mother was sent to a mental hospital in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and never saw her again.

When her father died and her mother became ill, Bishop was sent to live with her grandparents on a farm in Nova Scotia, Canada. Soon after, her grandparents obtained custody and brought her back to Worcester, USA. Grandparents have better family conditions, but Bishop is not happy. She misses her grandparents very much. During the period of living with her grandparents, she suffered from chronic asthma, which has been with her for almost her whole life.

Later, my grandparents realized that Bishop didn't seem to like living with them, so they sent Bishop to her aunt's house. Her aunt's family is average and she is still renting a house. Bishop's education and living expenses are still borne by his grandparents.

Childhood experience has a great influence on people. At the age when parents needed care and security most, Bishop was forced to toss and turn between several caregivers. This wandering and turbulent day will have an impact on her psychology and character formation. Probably, she felt that she had no attachment, no fetters and wandered around, so as an adult, she also chose to wander around and travel around.

After Bishop graduated from Vasa Women's College in 1930s, she lived with her college girlfriend Louise Klein on the southernmost island of the United States.

195 1, she got the travel fund and went to Brazil in South America. Bishop originally planned to stay for only two weeks. Because he met his lover Lolita, she extended her stay in Brazil to 15. She and Lolita spent many happy days in Petropolis and Rio de Janeiro.

Later, after returning to the United States, she lived in the small town of Beihai Fen, Maine, where she spent the last few summers of her life. Thankfully, her then girlfriend, Alice MesSophie, was always with her.

Throughout Elizabeth Bishop's life, it can be said that she has been wandering and drifting all her life. She lost the protection of her parents at an early age, leaving her homeless and rootless. This kind of wandering day is also a helpless move for her. Traveling around is not what she wants. She is full of longing for her family and often feels lonely. In a letter to her friend Lowell, she said, "When you write an epitaph for me, you must say that the loneliest person in the world lies here." Reading is moving.

These experiences of traveling and roaming brought her rich gifts. Those experiences, experiences and people she knows are all the materials of her creation. These experiences precipitated, shaped her inner essence, constructed her world outlook, and influenced her poetry writing style.

Elizabeth Bishop's travel experience has enriched her writing material library, and she has created a large number of travel-related poems. The common travel themes in her poems are: maps, land and sea, travel, sleep and related cities.

She said on the map,

"The waters painted on the map are quieter than the land. /They lend their wave structures to land. /Norwegian hare runs south in fear. /The longitudinal section measures the sea and where the land is. /Can the land choose its own color or obey the distribution? /-Which color best suits his personality and local waters? /the terrain is not biased; The north is as close as the west. /More subtle than historians is the color of the mapmaker. "

This is the beginning of her first book of poetry, North and South, which laid the foundation for later poems. The map is not only a tool to guide the way, but also has a deep symbolic meaning, symbolizing the departure and arrival of life. You can see the whole world from the map, and you can find many places. In the following chapters, Bishop wrote about the seaside town in Massachusetts, a northern seaport in Labrador, the morning in Paris, the pier in Orleans and so on, which can be regarded as an extension of the "map".

Most of the cities where she lives and travels are close to the sea, so images such as ocean, land and islands are also common in her poems. I like this song Beihai Fen very much, which was written in memory of my good friend Lowell. This poem is very soothing and restrained. The second half of the poem recalls the dribs and drabs I got along with Lowell, revealing a touch of sadness. The scenery in the first half is quiet and beautiful, which makes people yearn. I like this poem very much,

"This month, the flowers on an island we love are in full bloom:/buttercup, autumn radish cut face, purple pea flower,/Hibiscus is still burning, daisies are gorgeous, millet grass,/white-hot, star-studded motherwort,/there are more flowers coming back, depicting the grass happily.

The return of goldfinches or other similar birds/the five-syllable ballad of diphtheria finches/makes your eyes water like crying. /Repeat yourself naturally, or almost:/Repeat, repeat, repeat; Modify, modify, modify. "

When reading a poem, it seems that you can see those beautiful flowers blooming in front of you, competing with each other, bustling and colorful. This poem fully embodies the style of Bishop's poetry: restrained and soothing, gorgeous and concise, which makes people can't help chanting in their hearts after reading it. Such soothing and beautiful sentences can be found everywhere in poetry collections.

Reading Bishop's poems is like traveling with her, dazzling and at a loss. In more than two thousand illustrations and a complete index, she said:

"In Volubilis, beautiful poppy/mosaic tiles; The chubby old tour guide blinked. /A long row of golden dusk/rotting sunken ships hold up dripping cotton in Dingle Port. /The English woman poured tea and told us that the Duchess was going to have a baby. A brothel in Marrakech/a pimp/a tea tray on her head/belly dancing; Giggling/naked, they flocked to our knees and asked for a cigarette. "

In just a few words, the customs of different countries are described: the exotic customs of Morocco, the beautiful harbor of Ireland, the old tour guide who makes faces, and the coquettish little prostitute ... These pictures flash before our eyes, making people feel immersive.

She wrote that sleep is also very unique. Probably, travelers will be troubled by changes in environment and time. She has a poem "Sleeping Standing", which makes people applaud and admire the strangeness of the environment. She said,

"When we lie down to sleep, the world deviates by half/turns 90 degrees in the dark,/the idea of lying on the wall beside the desk/reclining during the day/rises, and when other things fall,/stands up to create a lush forest.

The dream armored car conspires to make us do/so many dangerous things,/scream at its edge/pretend all over, be ready to wade/the fastest stream at any time, or climb up the peeling/shale seam when cups and dishes rustle. "

People who suffer from insomnia always have many fantastic ideas. When we lie down to sleep, the world in our eyes deviates, and the desk by the wall is like lying on the wall. Bishop created a novel and upside-down world for himself to imagine. Similar poems include Sleeping on the Ceiling, Insomnia, Sleeping with Love and so on.

In short, what happened during the trip and what happened during the trip, and what she thought during the trip are all important sources of Bishop's creation, and she also endowed these things with unique significance with her unique perspective and profound insight, with Bishop's strong personal style.

Once upon a time, it was all the rage on the Internet. Whether studying or traveling, body and soul must have one on the road. In recent years, tourism has become a hot topic of public concern. We give travel many important meanings: it can increase your knowledge, sublimate your soul and expand your social circle. ...

It's easy for you to read such an article on the Internet: Girls should travel more, so as to increase their knowledge and not be cheated. Instead of buying a house with a loan, it is better to travel around the world with money, and so on. Travel has many advantages, but can it really cure all diseases?

Bishop spent almost all her life on the road. She probably lived a life that many people yearned for: while traveling, she wrote. Although she is a tourism expert, she has an objective and calm attitude towards tourism. In many poems, she thought about the function of travel. When she arrived in Saint Tus, she said:

"Oh, tourist,/is this country going to answer you like this?

You and your bossy demands: a different world/a better life, and finally fully understand both, and immediately/after a pause 18 days? "

Can you live a different life in a new place? Can you really get rid of the old shackles by escaping from familiar places? Bishop's questioning is thought-provoking.

Her third collection of poems is called The Problem of Travel. There is a poem with the same name in the collection, which profoundly explains Bishop's reflection on travel. She said,

"Think about the long way home. Should we stay at home and miss this place? /Where should we be today? /See strangers in this weirdest theater, right? /How naive: As long as there is breath in our bodies/We are determined to go somewhere else/See the sun from the other side of the world? /To see the smallest green hummingbird in the world? "

"But the lack of imagination makes us come to/imagine places instead of staying at home? /or what Pascal said about sitting quietly in the room/is not entirely correct? /

Continent, city, country and society:/Choice is never wide, and freedom is never available. /Here or there ... No. Should we stay at home? "

Pascal is a French philosopher. He has a famous saying that all human misfortunes lie in not staying in the room. From this poem, we can see Bishop's reflection on travel. She thinks it may be naive for us to go to other places to see the sun and the green hummingbirds. Because of lack of imagination, we went elsewhere instead of staying at home.

Why does Bishop ask such questions about travel? Because there was a wave of studying abroad in modern Europe, that is, traveling around as part of young people's self-education, aiming at cultivating enlightened and knowledgeable gentlemen. 1960s, this wave was in line with the "gap year" culture that arose in Britain, and the society at that time also highly praised tourism. Therefore, Bishop's role in tourism has been questioned by the soul.

There are always striking similarities in history. Today, the commodity economy is highly prosperous, people's living standards are improved, tourism has become an affordable service for ordinary people, merchants are desperately advocating the benefits of tourism, and the tourism trend is in the ascendant. In this case, let's look at the issue of travel again, which is actually quite enlightening.

In fact, many people exaggerate the role of tourism and have unrealistic illusions, thinking that when you come back from a trip, your soul will sublimate, or there will be adventures on your journey, which will make your life change happily. However, usually your life will not change after you come back from a trip.

You just briefly escaped from mediocrity and let yourself relax a little. When you come back, you still have to face what you have to face. Travel is just an opportunity for change, and it will not bring change by itself. If you don't have the spirit of reflection and the ability to recover, you can face and examine your heart deeply and urge yourself to change, and your life will not change.

Elizabeth bishop is a maverick and talented poet, who won numerous praises before her death and was called "the poet among poets". She had a great influence on American literature in the 20th century. She has been wandering and traveling all her life. She was unfortunate because she had a unique and sad growing experience, and at the same time, she was lucky because these experiences inspired her talent and talent. Her unique travel poems can still give us beautiful enjoyment and profound enlightenment.