Snapshot of Methfessel and Bishop
From Chapter 4
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From Chapter 4
Bishop and Methfessel met in 1970 at Harvard, where Methfessel worked as a secretary. The women were partners until Bishop’s death in 1979. (snapshot 1972; photographer unknown; VC 100.16; Courtesy of Vassar College)
From Chapter 4
Bishop’s typed letters to Methfessel are full of corrections, additions, and postscripts; the “messier” quality of these letters reveals a level of openness and spontaneity that Bishop had with few, if any, of her other correspondents. (Bishop to Methfessel, February 16, 1971, VC 114.32; Courtesy of Vassar College)
From Chapter 4
Stickers like the one at the top of this letter are an untranscribable element of the love letters that convey an understanding of the correspondents’ playfulness and tenderness. In a typical move, Bishop self-consciously comments on the sentimentality of the sticker with “yucky, isn’t it?” (Bishop to Methfessel, 11 Feb 1971, VC 114.29; Courtesy of Vassar College)
From Chapter 4
Bishop and Methfessel frequently exchanged ephemera and clippings in their letters. Many of these tokens—such as this hotel stamp—were very small, which exemplifies Susan Rosenbaum’s notion of Bishop as an archivist constructing a “miniature museum.” (Hotel Stamp, VC 116.32; Courtesy of Vassar College)