Kayla Condrey Condrey 1

September 27th 2017

English 111-402

Goodman Spotlights Forgotten Poet

"Elizabeth Bisland's Race Around the World" is an article written by Matthew Goodman to show

the underappreciation of Elizabeth Bisland. Although many people overlooked Bisland's endeavors,

Goodman had much admiration for her and her journeys. Goodman shows the reader that Bisland's

journey wasn’t a race or a plan to become famous, when in fact it was an adventure to learn what was

going on in the world around her. He emphasizes Bisland's use of the race as an opportunity to write

poetry about her experiences. In this paper we will identify Goodman's attempt to recognize the under

apricated female author and her contributions to the womens rights movement through her adventure

around the world.

The way Goodman looks at this piece allows the reader to look at Bisland on a much deeper

level. Before reading Goodmans passage, the reader would think it is about a girl racing around the

world. Although that is what it is about, Goodman finds a much deeper meaning than just a simple race

around the world. He portrays a woman who takes a trip around the world to set a good example for all

women because their history of oppression. He shows that although Bisland is no longer being looked

up to, she was courageousness to speak up. She didn’t use the event to become a celebrity but to set an

example. In Goodman's article, Bisland was asked to race by The Cosmopolitan magazine company that

she works for to give them publicity. At first, she said no but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Goodman wanted the reader to know her hesitancy to gain notoriety. Goodman shows that Bizland

agreed to participate in the race but it was for a different reason than The Cosmopolitan had in mind.

They wanted her to do it for the fame and the headlines but Bisland didn’t speak of it, even after the day

see returned. "Bisland never breached the promise she made to herself at the end of the race around

the world: to conduct the rest of her life in such a way that no journalist would ever again see fit to put

her name in a headline." said Goodman

Kayla Condrey Condrey 2
September 27th 2017
English 111-402

As in most selections there are many strengths and weaknesses. Some of the quotes in

Goodman's selection could be more difficult to comprehend. Which would make it harder for the reader

to understand the powerful message Goodman has to offer. There are plenty of things in this passage

that make it intriguing. Goodman makes it a point to show how strong of a women Bisland was. It also

reflects on other pieces of works, challenging the reader to connect with her on a different level.

Another strength to this selection is the introduction of Goodman's article misleads the reader to think

the selection is about a race but it's really about Elizabeth's writing to understand women and how they

were overlooked.

Goodman uses many loaded terms to get the point across. The loaded terms Goodman uses are

mostly from Elizabeths poems to express her feelings on a much deeper level. He also employs the

positive and negative use of words in this selection. It is mainly used in the fractions of Elizabeths

poetry. The use of these words makes this selection more enjoyable because it shows you different

perspectives of the same situation. In this piece you can interperet it in many different ways “The oldest

of all empires is that of man; no royal house is so ancient as his,” the reader could look at as the house is

like a man's castle and he is the king but other people may look at it differently.

Goodman did justice to Bisland's journey by telling the side of the story no one else told. He

showed the brave decisions she made that made women look up to her for years. Goodman shows how

much of an inspiration Bisland was to women. To show just how forgotten she has become, none of her

work has been published to this day. "Today, all of her books are out of print, but she deserves to be

better remembered than she is – for the gorgeousness of her prose, of course, and the clear-sightedness

of her perspective on the condition of women, but also as someone who chose to turn away from the

culture of celebrity just as it was dawning. " said Goodman.

Kayla Condrey Condrey 3
September 27th 2017
English 111-402

Work Cited

• Goodman, Matthew. “Elizabeth Bisland's Race Around the World.” The Public Domain Review,
publicdomainreview.org/2013/10/16/elizabeth-bislands-race-around-the-world/.
Kayla Condrey Condrey 4
September 27th 2017
English 111-402
Kayla Condrey Condrey 5
September 27th 2017
English 111-402