Une Machine A Coudre Manuelle: Elizabeth Bishop's "Everyday Surrealism"

Abstract

ERNESTO SU[acute{A}]REZ-TOSTE An approach to surrealist painting from point of view of its formal heterogeneity suggests that Elizabeth Bishop's affinities with can be related to non-automatic branch. Bishop and Ren[acute{e}] Magritte followed an almost identical poetics of defamiliarization, which likely derived from common influence of Giorgio de Chirico. Maurice Nadeau's rather romantic statement that the surrealist behavior is eternal (4), still leaves question of membership in post-surrealism unanswered. In order to apply post-surrealist label to contemporary authors, we need a set of criteria, perhaps just as arbitrary as those Andr[acute{e}] Breton used to grant and withdraw membership in surrealist group. The resort to style is easy solution, for what does style stand for in relation to (post-)surrealism? Featuring narrative Magritte side by side with abstract Mir[acute{o}], surrealist style rises as a bicephalous monster, and art historian has entered its cavern and returned to tell. In her excellent assessment of previous attempts at definition, Rosalind Krauss studies both Breton's original and William Rubin's revision, showing how both produce additive--rather than synthetic--definitions, and so fail to integrate two poles into a coherent and univocal poetics (91-94). Where both succeed is in agreeing on twofoldness of sur realism, mapping this heterogeneity with relative precision. While Breton's initial proposal called opposite poles dreams and automatism, Rubin labeled them academic-illusionist (for Magritte) and automatist-abstract (for Mir[acute{6}]). A different matter is, of course, how to reconcile poles under same label. For Rubin, what both share is irrationally conceived metaphoric image (36), while Breton defends visuality, that is, immediacy of visual perception (26-30). Publications about Elizabeth Bishop often mention coincidences between her early poetry, particularly her first book, North & South (1946), and surrealism, especially on account of their most evident common features. These features include interest in dream experience, world of children and primitive art. At same time, Richard Mullen's groundbreaking essay notes Bishop's rejection of the shapeless poetics accompanying derangement of consciousness practiced by Andr[acute{e}] Breton (64); and Thomas J. Travisano accurately establishes Bishop's detachment from orthodox surrealism, since she had no interest in psychic automatism (Development 42). Within past decade, Bonnie Costello emphasizes important influence on Bishop of surrealist painting (26-27), and Lynn Keller observes that while this influence marks a difference with Marianne Moore, it is also true that latter had long admired Giorgio de Chirico and Max Ernst (114). Particular attention has been given by Barbara Page to Bishop's use of dream material as related to surrealism. There is still, however, a certain reticence to explore Bishop's surrealist affinity in depth. Some critics have eluded term surrealism with more or less success, providing alternative analyses of Bishop's early poetry. Vernon Shetley's ranks as most solid among these alternative critical views. In my opinion, impact of on Bishop's work is still underrated, perhaps because critics see term surrealism as loaded with same negative connotations that Bishop herself perceived when she rejected label in 1946: Although many years ago I once admired one of Ernst's albums [. . .] since I have disliked all of paintings intensely and am not a surrealist, I think it would be misleading to mention my name in connection with his (One Art 135). It is my intention in this essay to integrate Bishop's pre-War poetry into academic-illusionist-oneiric surrealist branch, as an alternative to automatic section, which seems to have become its reductionist identification for general public. …

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