December 1981

Vassar used the grants from the Charles E. Merrill and Pew Memorial trusts as well as the gifts of Julia Blodgett Curtis ‘62, Mrs. Suzette Davidson ‘34 and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller ‘31 to acquire the papers of Pulitzer-prize winning poet Elizabeth Bishop ’34.

“I’m extremely pleased to have Elizabeth’s papers in the Vassar manuscript collection,” the literary executor of Bishop’s estate, Alice H. Methfessel, told The New York Times. “It’s an excellent library, and the leadership of the college is dedicated to the preservation of manuscripts and knows their value to scholars and students. Elizabeth had a real fondness for her alma mater and the friends she made there. She said that Vassar had a profound effect on her life.”

New York Times