
Poem & Conversation With Sandra Marchetti
When I’ve read this poem at events or workshops, most folks think of it as a take on Bishop’s “The Fish.” And, of course, Bishop is well known for her fishing imagery, being from Nova Scotia, etc. My favorite poem of hers is “At the Fishhouses,” which provides the epigraph for my full-length collection, Confluence. All of this to say, the driving force behind “Imagination” is Bishop’s “The Riverman,” a poem that is less well-known. It is rough-hewn, very narrative, and based in Brazilian myth. Bishop lets her hair down in this piece.