The Man in the Newspaper Hat

The Man in the Newspaper Hat is a fictionalized portrayal of what went into the creation of Elizabeth Bishop’s poem, “Visits to St. Elizabeths.” Bishop wrote this poem during her visits with the infamous poet, Ezra Pound who was remanded to St. Elizabeths in 1946 after having stood trial for treason where a special jury found him incompetent. Each scene is built upon aspects of Bishop’s poem and follows both characters as they come together, “poet to poet,” to discuss what makes a good poem and what does not.