The Colder The Air – A poem by Elizabeth Bishop. About the poet – Elizabeth Bishop (1911 – 1979) was an American poet and a short-story writer. She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Her writing style was detailed and highly objective. She received many awards and laurels in her lifetime such as the 1976 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Pulitzer Prize in 1956 and National Book Award in 1970.She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950. Bishop is considered one of the most important and distinguished American poets of the 20th century.