Ballad of the Burglar of Babylon Author:Elizabeth Bishop, Ann Grifalconi (Illustrator) Elizabeth Bishop witnessed, through binoculars, the pursuit of the ruthless criminal across the hills of Rio de Janeiro. Later, she recalled that incident in Brazil in a 44-page ballad which tells the brutal story of an escaped convict -- who would rather spend ninety hours being pursued to ninety years in pris... more »on -- is hunted down by an army of soldiers near the slum where he was raised.« less