A Pocket of Time: The Poetic Childhood of Elizabeth Bishop

We all have moments from our childhood that come flooding back when we hear a certain sound, smell a certain smell, or visit a certain location. Highlighting Elizabeth Bishop’s childhood memories with her own words, A Pocket of Time gives readers a peek into the time Bishop spent in Nova Scotia, living full-time with her grandparents for a few years, and during her summer visits after her American grandparents took her to live with them in Massachusetts.

With the story set in the small, cozy town of Great Village, Nova Scotia, readers are given a glimpse into what life was like for Bishop in her early years. While tragedy brought her to Great Village (after her father died when she was an infant, Bishop and her mother came to live with her Canadian grandparents, and Bishop stayed with her grandparents for a short time when her mother was sent to a psychiatric hospital), Bishop’s time in Nova Scotia left a lasting impression on her, an impression that is demonstrated in the passages from her own writing found throughout the book.

Rita Wilson perfectly captures the charm and intimacy of early twentieth century small-town life in Nova Scotia. Readers are fully immersed in Elizabeth Bishop’s childhood world through Emma Fitzgerald’s whimsical drawings and the archival images scattered throughout. Elizabeth Bishop’s own lyrical words, pulled from her writing, add to the sense of reflecting and reminiscing throughout the book. In colorful, large italics, they call to be read out loud, making A Pocket of Time a great book to be read together.

While the introduction and postscript may be a bit difficult for some readers, parents and educators will find them very useful when setting the stage for A Pocket of Time. One benefit to the complexity of the postscript is that it’s there that readers learn Elizabeth still spent her summers with Gammie and Pa. The way Bishop’s American grandparents took her from her Great Village with little warning could be upsetting to some readers, especially those with parents who live in different locations, and knowing they still saw each other often provides a happier ending.

A Pocket in Time is a lively depiction of Elizabeth Bishop’s early years – a time that influenced her writing later in life. Readers will greatly enjoy Elizabeth Bishop’s precociousness and may be inspired to write down their favorite memories as they happen, too.