In South America, the town of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, stands out as an example of the cultural and political relevance attained by imagined communities of readers in the eighteenth century. Not coincidently, centuries later, the historic town was chosen by the North-American poet Elizabeth Bishop to be one of her imaginary homelands. The essays included in this collection resulted from a gathering of academics, artists, and others who met in Ouro Preto in 1999 to share their common interest in "The Art of Elizabeth Bishop", a conference held on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the poet''s death.