THE EMILY DICKINSON INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

Volume 25, Number 1 May/June 2013

“The Only News I know / Is Bulletins all Day / From Immortality.” The Romance of Certain Old Books EMILY DICKINSON INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

Officers

President: Jonnie Guerra Vice-President: Martha Nell Smith Secretary: Nancy Pridgen Treasurer: James C. Fraser

Board Members

Antoine Cazé Jonnie Guerra Nancy Pridgen Paul Crumbley Suzanne Juhasz Eliza Richards Cindy Dickinson (Honorary Board Member) Barbara Mossberg Martha Nell Smith Páraic Finnerty Marianne Noble Alexandra Socarides James C. Fraser Elizabeth Petrino Hiroko Uno Vivian Pollak Jane Wald (Honorary Board Member)

Legal Advisor: Barbara Leukart Chapter Development Chair: Nancy Pridgen Nominations Chair: Suzanne Juhasz Book Review Editor: Barbara Kelly Membership Chair: Elizabeth Petrino Bulletin Editor: Daniel Manheim Dickinson and the Arts Chair: Barbara Dana Journal Editor: Cristanne Miller

Sustaining Members

Mary Elizabeth Berhnard David H. Forsyth Niels Kjaer Richard Brantley James C. Fraser Cristanne Miller Jane D. Eberwein Jonnie G. Guerra Martha Nell Smith Judith Farr Lois Kackley Gary Lee Stonum

Contributing Members

Carolyn L. Cooley David Jamieson Ethan Tarasov Marie Esteve Daniel Manheim Robin Tarasov Robert Eberwein Jonathan Morse Richard Tryon

EDIS gratefully acknowledges the generous financial contributions of these members.

EDIS Bulletin (ISSN 1055-3932) is published twice yearly, May/June and November/December, by The Emily Dickinson International Society, Inc. Standard Mail non- profit postage is paid at Lexington, KY 40511. Membership in the Society is open to all persons with an interest in Emily Dickinson and her work. For further information, contact Jonnie Guerra, President, EDIS, 1812 Garden Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906 USA or [email protected]. Annual dues are $50.00 for regular members, $30.00 for students, $200.00 for sustaining members, $113.00 for institutional members, $100.00 for contributing members (all of whom receive the Bulletin and the Emily Dickin- son Journal), or $20.00 for associate members (Bulletin only). Membership inquiries should be directed to James C. Fraser, 159 Prospect St., Apt 7, Acton, MA, 01720-3654, USA. Membership applications and changes of address should be sent to The Emily Dickinson International Society, c/o Johns Hopkins University Press, P.O. Box 19966, Baltimore, MD 21211-0966, USA. Direct changes of address to [email protected], 800-548-1784 (U.S. and Canada), or 410-516-6987; fax to 410-516-3866. Ad- dress submissions for the Bulletin to Daniel Manheim, Centre College, 600 West Walnut St., Danville, KY 40422, USA or [email protected]. Submission deadlines are March 1 (Spring issue) and September 1 (Fall issue). All articles become the property of the Bulletin. Back issues are available for $5.00 each from the editor. Copyright © 2013 by The Emily Dickinson International Society, Inc. The Bulletin is indexed in EBSCO, Humanities International Complete, and the MLA Bibliography.

www.emilydickinsoninternationalsociety.org In This Issue

Features Reviews 4 Accumulating, Not Collecting 25 New Publications By George Monteiro By Barbara Kelly, Book Review Editor 19 Erotic Melodies 27 Letter to the World: Randi Laubek Sings By Despina Lala Crist Emily Dickinson Reviewed by Niels Kjaer Series Members’ News 6 Dickinson Scholars The Mind and Life of Genevieve Taggard 29 Obituaries By Jane Donahue Eberwein Series Editor, Cindy MacKenzie 31 New Board Members

9 Poet to Poet 32 A Conversation with the Amherst Chapter Waiting for Dickinson By Lois Kackley By Kate Daniels Series Editor, Jonnie Guerra 35 Chapter Group News 12 Dickinson And the Arts 36 Emily Dickinson, World Citizen Wasn’t She Just a Recluse? 2013 EDIS International Conference By Barbara Dana Series Editor, Barbara Dana 39 The Sweets of Pillage 15 Teaching Dickinson Supposed Persons: Emily Dickinson and “I” By Joy Ladin Series Editor, Marianne Noble

Front Cover, counter-clockwise: A favorite bookstore of the editor, in Cincinnati, Ohio; George Monteiro’s second-edition copy of A Masque of Poets; a shelf of old books, photographed by a covetous collector; some volumes from the Dickinson family library; the legendary Hard- ings Books in Wells, Maine; and two early editions of Dickinson’s poems from the Emily Dickinson Museum (photo credit, Donna Abelli).

Back Cover: Three works to be featured at the EDIS Conference, “Emily Dickinson, World Citizen,” this summer in College Park, Mary- land, and Washington, DC: The Gorgeous Nothings, by Jan Bervin and Marta Werner (Granary Books; reviewed in the Fall 2012 Bulle- tin); a bust of Emily Dickinson by Valentina Mattei; and a painting by Gretchen Cline, based on an 1859 daguerreotype that many believe represents the poet as a mature woman and author.

The fourth image on the back cover is from the series of paintings by EDIS member Ellen Beinhorn, featured in the Fall 2012 Bulletin. Ms. Beinhorn was scheduled to present a lecture about her Dickinson-inspired paintings at this summer’s conference, but unfortunately, she suffered a heart attack this Spring and will not be able to attend. The Bulletin extends fond get-well wishes on behalf of the EDIS.

Spots: Elyse Elliott

Dickinson poems are reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of Amherst College from the following volumes: The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College; The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Variorum Edition, Ralph W. Franklin, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College; The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition, Ralph W. Franklin, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1998, 1999 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College; The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson, ed., Copyright © 1929, 1935 by Mar- tha Dickinson Bianchi, Copyright © renewed 1957, 1963 by Mary L. Hampson: Little Brown and Co., Boston. Dickinson letters are reprinted by permission of the publishers from The Letters of Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1958, 1986 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College; 1914, 1924, 1932, 1942 by Martha Dickinson Bianchi; 1952 by Alfred Leete Hampson; 1960 by Mary L. Hampson. Following upon the reflections published in the last issue by “Krans Bloeimaand” about experiences collecting Dickinson materials in the digital age, this is the second in a series of, currently, four articles by collectors of books, letters, and other objects related to the poet. Any other collectors who would like to discuss their experiences are encouraged to contact the editor of the Bulletin.

Accumulating Dickinson, Not Collecting

By George Monteiro

am not a Dickinson collector. I have never tunately, the two volumes were right there tive Bibliography (1984), that my Masque of Ibeen a Dickinson collector. But I do have together. Poets (“Red Line Edition,” according to its several shelves of Dickinson-related books publisher) was a second edition copy. My sus- that I have accumulated over many decades. I was just as lucky on another occasion, picions had been aroused when I came across “You’re not a collector, you’re an accumula- though, as it turned, it took a while. In a road- a copy of the true first, with the indication in tor,” was the wise observation of my twelve- side bookshop near Taunton, Massachusetts, I red lettering against a black background that it year-old son, who at that age had already came across a first volume of Nathaniel Haw- started collecting Sylvia Plath. He was right, thorne’s The Marble Faun and spent a half- of course. Still, as an accumulator who ac- hour going through all the books in the shop quired books, old and new, that might (or looking for volume two without finding it. I might not) be useful today, tomorrow or never was about to walk away without buying vol- to a teacher of literature, it was inevitable that ume one when it occurred to me that I could I would gather up some Dickinson titles. In- come back another time and look for volume deed, had I not sensed the scarcity of the three two. So I paid the dollar for volume one, and volumes of Dickinson poetry published in did come back later – several times, in fact – the 1890s and followed that up by preparing but had no success. Finally, after I had told the a reprint edition (three volumes in one) for shopkeeper how frustrated I was in my quest, Scholars’ Facsimiles and Reprints, the copies he let me into the shed where he had his over- reproduced by copy-machine from copies in flow stock. Eureka, there was volume two, the Harris Collection of Poetry and Plays, at which he sold to me for a dollar. Brown University? By the way, ultimately I was lucky enough to So, I began to look out for first-edition cop- find another first-edition set of the 1894 Let- ies of the first three editions of Dickinson’s ters as well as Gillian Webster Barr Bailey’s poetry, though never once finding them, nei- copy of the 1906 one-volume re-issue for five The coveted first edition ofA Masque of Poets ther in the bookstores and junk shops around dollars. It was in Maine also that I found cop- Providence, nor along Route 1 in southeast- ies of the 1915 Single Hound and A Masque of belonged to the “No Name Series.” I noticed ern Maine, from Kittery Point through Ken- Poets, for which I shelled out fifteen and ten it sitting on a shelf with all the more expensive nebunkport and as far as Wells – my particu- dollars, respectively. They were purchased at items in the seller’s little office complete with lar Gold Coast for less-than-pecunious buys. different times and at different places, and in his half-empty bottle of Early Times bourbon, I had to settle for later-edition copies, and both instances I did not buy the books the first the place where you paid for books. This copy over the years I picked up nine of them (I time I spotted them. But I bit the bullet and was priced at sixty-five dollars, despite the just got up and walked downstairs to count went back for them, having buckled under the fact that the front cover was close to being en- them) always at no more than a dollar or so. nagging thought that in not snapping them tirely detached. The price? Sixty-five dollars. It was in that way that I also stumbled upon up right off I had made a grievous mistake. No thanks. Several visits later I noticed that a very nice first edition of the two-volume Only later would I determine, after consulting the book was gone. Surprise. On my birthday, letters edited by Mabel Loomis Todd. For- Joel Myerson’s Emily Dickinson: a Descrip- there it was at home, a gift from my wife.

4 | EDIS Bulletin Along the way, of course, I picked up numer- ceased Manuel Bandeira, “THE poet here,” I’ve already mentioned that for quite a while I ous editions of Dickinson’s poetry, always at as the American poet Elizabeth Bishop, bought secondary works (which now fill more bargain prices. I did not shop from booksell- then living in Brazil was quick to recognize. than three shelves in my library) when they ers’ catalogues nor, if memory serves me, did Rather righteously (and pompously) I dubbed came out. (I rented my house for the time I was I query any bookseller about a specific title. these two Brazilian translators as Dickinson’s in Brazil, and when I moved back in the only I also bought, until the mid-nineties, second- “privileged and presumptuous guests.” Long book that I noticed was missing, obviously ary works on Dickinson, these deemed useful story short, this public presentation went a taken by the graduate student in English litera- to my teaching and writing. Thus my horde long way to setting me up as a student of Bra- ture who had rented the place from me, was grew. But it became highly specialized in zilian translations of Dickinson. From then Charles R. Anderson’s splendid study Emily another way, one that I never anticipated. In on – from 1970 to the present – whenever Dickinson’s Poetry: Stairway of Surprise. I June 1969 I arrived in Brazil, to take up du- a new book of Dickinson translations has couldn’t wait to replace it.) Then there was ties as a visiting Fulbright lecturer in Ameri- appeared in Brazil, I have been sent a copy the book of criticism I had read about some- by my friend Carlos Daghlian, who himself where but could not find, not in the libraries I is the author of a dissertation on Dickinson had access to or the booksellers I frequented. as well as the compiler of an on-line world- In fact, when I asked for J. V. Cunningham’s wide bibliography of Dickinson translations. book on Dickinson at the Grolier Poetry Book These number about a dozen, along with cop- Shop, I was told that not only did they not ies of the program for the Brazilian produc- have the book but I must be mistaken about it tion of William Luce’s “Emily, the Belle of since they had never heard of it. In fact, they Amherst.” The program reproduces the trans- seriously doubted that such a book existed. I lations of Dickinson’s poetry done by Maria began to doubt it myself. You can’t imagine da Julieta Drummond de Andrade, who is the what pleasure it gave me to find and purchase, daughter of Carlos Drummond de Andrade, a few years later, Cunningham’s Dickinson: one of Brazil’s most important poets of the Lyric and Legend, published by Sylvester & twentieth century. Orphanos in Los Angeles in 1980.

I have acquired two Dickinson artifact art And have I mentioned that I own a copy of TV books by Walter Feldman, one by purchase, Guide for December 18, 1976, showing John the second a gift. I purchased Emily Dickin- Chancellor and David Brinkley on the cover, son 7 Poems (8 of 14), a miniature “concer- but featuring Anthony Hecht on “The Belle of Selected Poems and Letters of Emily Dickinson, tina” book. But Summer Diary 1989 for Emily Amherst”? How many Dickinson collectors Anchor Press 1959, autographed by US artist, Dickinson is a one-of-a-kind book comprised have one of those? Leonard Baskin, who designed the cover. of the artist’s sketches of trees, bushes, and vines within his ken during, I believe, a period All this happened, I point out, before the ad- can Literature at the University of São Paulo. of convalescence. vent of on-line bookselling and search-engines To practice my Portuguese I hit upon the idea for data-bank explorations and, subsequently, of examining and reading Portuguese trans- I have never come across signed or inscribed the now seemingly inevitable demise of my lations of American literary works. As luck copies. (I recall a Channel 2 auction when the occupation and pleasure in looking around for would have it, I came across Poesias Escol- famed owner of the Brattle Book Store of- antique shops and junk stores where I can fer- hidas de Emily Dickinson, a modestly-sized fered up a copy of the 1890 Poems, asserting ret around for more books to add to the insa- bilingual edition with translations by Olívia that it was signed by the poet. Of course I did tiable accumulator’s horde. Krähenbühl, first published in 1956. Thus not bid. How could I after such a claim?) The when asked, a few months later, to choose one exception that I recall is that I paid three a topic for a presentation in Rio de Janeiro dollars for an inscribed copy of Austin and George Monteiro is Professor Emeritus of to speak at a conference of English-language Mabel: The Amherst Affair and Love Letters English and Adjunct Professor of Portu- teachers, I thought of reporting on transla- of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd guese and Brazilian Studies at Brown Uni- tions of Dickinson’s poetry in Brazil. by Polly Longsworth, even though I already versity. He is the author of many studies of owned a copy of the book and would never US, Brazilian, and Portuguese literature, Besides Krähenbühl’s, I had also discovered have asked Polly, a fellow trustee of the Mar- including, most recently, a translation of a handful of translations by the recently de- tha Dickinson Bianchi Trust, to sign it. the Iberian Poems of Miguel Torga (2005).

May/June 2013 | 5 Dickinson Scholars

Series Editor, Cindy MacKenzie The Mind and Life of Genevieve Taggard By Jane Donahue Eberwein This is the second in a series of articles about early Dickinson biographers, including Josephine McIlvain Pollitt Pohl and George Frisbee Whicher.

enevieve Taggard’s 1930 go outside the gate, but live the Gbiography, The Life and life of a recluse – for his sake” Mind of Emily Dickinson (108). Another version had the (Knopf), is remembered now lovers meeting in the garden almost exclusively for the only to turn and discover her melodramatic love story at the father standing behind them heart of her narrative – a story with a lantern to order her into even Taggard recognized as the house. Emily’s defiant -re “legend.” The key figures were ply was “very well, father, if George Gould (a distant cousin you do not trust me out of your and promising but impover- sight, I will never leave your ished Amherst College student garden again” (82). A third who later became a clergyman version characterized the lover in Worcester, Massachusetts), as an attorney, which raises Emily herself (just recently re- doubts about Gould. turned from her year at Mount Holyoke), and Edward Dick- Taggard’s living sources, all inson (a father fixated on the Courtesy of Sarah Lawrence College Archives aged women, relied on their child in whom he saw a height- own or their mothers’ memo- ened version of himself). A formidable pub- must be wary of legend; it contributes very ries of conversations with Lavinia Dickin- lic speaker and editor of The Indicator, a little and is often false or obtuse” (82), she son, Margaret Maher, or Mrs. Austin Dick- student literary publication, Gould presum- drew on written and/or oral accounts by inson, and two claimed that they had it on ably played a role in publishing Dickinson’s three sources identified as X, Y, and Z (with good authority that the lover’s name was comical valentine beginning “Magnum bo- X since identified as Mary Lee Hall, who George Gould. Building on this ground- num, ‘harum scarum’” in the February 1850 relayed a story from Aurelia Hinsdale Da- work, Taggard added subsequent elements issue (L34). He was the likely recipient of vis). X’s account of Dickinson’s love crisis to the story, which included speculation on that witty missive, which bespoke more focused on the 1850 College commence- a possible meeting between Dickinson and delight in language than amorous passion. ment celebration, when “Emily sent word Gould when he was preaching in Phila- Yet Taggard believed that Gould, Austin’s to her lover to meet her at a certain hour, delphia during her visit there, an assumed classmate and friend, played a key role in in a part of the grounds, after the reception pattern of surreptitious mail delivery over whatever crisis accounted for the sharp dis- was over. She was dressed in white, and many years from Gould through Deacon parity between Emily Dickinson’s unevent- when her lover appeared she told him that Luke Sweetser to Maggie and thence to ful outer existence and her intensely rich her father had forbidden her to see him, or Emily, and closing emphasis on Gould’s inner drama, a contrast Taggard described to write to him, and declared that love was comments after the 1890 Poems appeared. as “two lives in one person – lives that inter- too vital a flower to be crushed so cruelly. Gould himself proved less central to this locked, but did not interfere” (xiv). She promised to love him as long as she tale than Edward Dickinson and the family lived, said she would answer every letter dynamic Taggard intuited on the basis of Taggard, who was teaching at Mount Holy- he wrote, arranged to have Mr. Sweetser re- Emily’s letters and Lavinia’s bitter late-life oke College while preparing this book, ceive and deliver the letters to Maggie, told comments about their father. Taggard held relied on Amherst lore for key elements him she would dress in white, fall, winter, that Edward recognized his own physical of her story. Even while warning that “we spring, and summer, and never again would and mental traits in his brilliant elder daugh-

6 | EDIS Bulletin Dickinson Scholars

ognized the problems biographers faced than to any romantic overtures (238-39). As when she observed that “the technique of we know, Emily did not wear white exclu- the mystery story does not lend itself readily sively in the 1850s nor confine herself to to biography. Moreover, very little happened the Homestead in the years when she visited to Emily Dickinson. She lived in Amherst Washington, sought eye treatment in Cam- and wrote poetry; in those two lines we have bridge, and attended frequent social events almost her whole biography” (455). Fred- at the Evergreens. In general, however, bi- eric I. Carpenter, reviewing the first three of ographers have been willing to add Gould these books for the New England Quarterly to the list of young men who were objects of (3, 4: 753-57), commented that “the fault of Dickinson’s “girlish crushes” (Wolff, 387). Miss Taggard’s method is that, having re- fused credence to Mme. Bianchi’s story, she This was the only biography Genevieve then adopts as much of it as suits her needs, Taggard wrote in a long and richly pro- rejects the rest of it (George Gould was not ductive literary career. Although chiefly married and did not die prematurely), and a poet, she displayed remarkable schol- finally bolsters up her own version with the arly resourcefulness in tracking down and sworn statements of various correspondents, marshaling evidence as well as in calling signed, respectively, ‘X,’ ‘Y,’ and ‘Z,’ assert- attention to deficiencies even in her own ing that George Gould was the man in the imagined reconstruction of bygone events Jane and Robert Eberwein case. The story is made coherent more by (supplying a note, for example, question- Photo Credit: Steve Fratoni the strength of Miss Taggard’s imagination ing whether Maggie Maher had joined the than by her reasoning.” Yet, he concluded, Dickinson household early enough to serve ter and jealously claimed her for himself. “one feels that, if not demonstrable by fact, as an eye-witness). Taggard’s “Acknowl- Taggard knew the risks of relying on mem- it is at least true to the spirit of Emily Dick- edgment” indicates careful research at the ories of persons who were children at the inson and her poetry” (756). Jones Library and Converse Library in time of the poet’s death. Her goal, however, Amherst, the Mount Holyoke College Li- was to counter stories she regarded as even Later biographers have rejected Taggard’s brary, and the Boston Public Library as well more suspect that had been advanced by story. George Whicher had lived too long as conversations and correspondence with Martha Dickinson Bianchi, with her senti- in Amherst to trust contradictory folklore. knowledgeable persons including George mental account of her aunt’s heroic renunci- Of Gould, Whicher declared in This Was Whicher and Mabel Loomis Todd. She ation of a married clergyman whom she had a Poet: Emily Dickinson that “there is not acknowledged Pollitt’s book, which must met in Philadelphia, and Josephine Pollitt, the slightest ground for supposing that her have seen print even as Taggard was con- with her case for Lieutenant Edward Hunt love poems were addressed to him” (321). cluding her work, and pointed out errors in as the object of Dickinson’s unattainable Richard Sewall judged in The Life of Emily that as well as Madame Bianchi’s memoirs love. Bianchi retaliated in Emily Dickinson Dickinson that the story did not seem to fit of her aunt. If Taggard relied too heavily on Face to Face (1932) by disparaging Tag- either of the two Dickinson principals while memories of aged ladies, her eagerness to gard’s case for Gould as lover, and she flatly noting that “there is no hint of a quarrel or avail herself of their testimony before that rejected the representation of her grandfa- misunderstanding between Mr. Dickinson generation disappeared was surely under- ther as a cruel, controlling parent. and young Gould” (422, 421). Cynthia Grif- standable. In any case, she cautioned her fin Wolff corrected Taggard’s account by readers that “we do not remember much but Even sympathetic early reviewers zeroed in observing in Emily Dickinson that “George legend of a person when we have only half on deficiencies they recognized in Taggard’s Gould was still calling at the Dickinson seen a hurrying whiteness” (xii). biography. Anna Mary Wells, reviewing it house to see Emily, and he continued his for American Literature (2, 4: 455-58) along relationship with the family at least until As a poet, Taggard relied most insightful- with Pollitt’s Emily Dickinson, the Human 1852” (114). Even though Alfred Habegger ly on Dickinson’s own poems and letters, Background of Her Poetry, Macgregor Jen- agreed with Taggard that Edward Dickinson which she read with close attention. Even kins’s Emily Dickinson Friend and Neigh- might have intervened in an ill-timed court- with this material, however, she found her- bor, and Alfred Leete Hampson’s Emily ship, he thought it more likely that the father self stymied by missing evidence. Only Dickinson: A Bibliography – all published objected to his daughter’s exposure to pub- the 750 poems printed by 1929 were avail- for the centennial of the poet’s birth – rec- lic remark through the Indicator publication able to her, and for letters she had to rely

May/June 2013 | 7 Dickinson Scholars

on a borrowed copy of the rare 1894 edi- Dickinson’s sister, sister-in-law, women Bennington College, and Sarah Lawrence tion. From these sources, she arrived at friends, and even Elizabeth Barrett Brown- drew her to the northeast. In her Collected another story of young Emily’s loss of an ing (though no more disparagingly than she Poems, 1918-1938 (1938), poems are fol- important masculine influence – in this writes of Thoreau, whom she mentions fre- Continued on page 22 case reproaching other writers for ignoring quently as a Transcendental parallel to Dick- Leonard Humphrey, although Taggard ap- inson). plied to him epistolary comments that later “Dedication” scholars have applied to Benjamin New- Although Taggard focused intently on Dick- ton. Anticipating the editorial scholarship inson’s self-awareness as a poet, her own Emily! that would transform Dickinson studies experience of poetic vocation differed dras- The book is bound from the middle decades of the twentieth tically. Taggard saw her first poems in print The pages cut. century, Taggard called attention to possi- as a student at Berkeley, where her editorial Index says: Emily. bilities of dating poem manuscripts on the experiences prepared her for entry into the Where are you found? basis of penmanship and association with New York writing scene and vigorous in- letters, and she discerned by comparing volvement in left-wing literary circles. By Deity will see to it the published facsimile of a poem with its the time she wrote her Dickinson biography, That you never do it. appearance in print that serious questions Taggard had already authored For Eager should be raised about Todd’s transcription Lovers (1922), Hawaiian Hilltop (1923), Deity did. of manuscript material, introduction of al- Words for the Chisel (1926), and Traveling You are vexed. tered language, and choices among variant Standing Still: Poems, 1918-1928 (1928), You vanish, with a text. manuscripts of a poem. collected California poems in Continent’s End (1925), edited several magazines, and Still you have been Taggard pointed toward other directions in co-founded Measure: A Magazine of Verse. Some months my shy companion. While Dickinson scholarship that have become In 1925, she also edited May Days, an an- I wrote central to our understanding: anticipating thology of poems that had first appeared in The slow prose, Shira Wolosky in identifying the Civil War the Liberator and New Masses. Another col- You watched, alert, amused. Your words as a crucial force in the poet’s artistic emer- lection, Circumference: Varieties of Meta- Fell on the page, consenting, with my gence, James Guthrie in recognizing the physical Verse, appeared in 1929 and reveals words. centrality of legal language to Dickinson’s her engagement with Emily Dickinson at writing, and Aífe Murray by intuiting the that time, not only in its allusive title but also Index offended you, influence of servants’ speech habits on the in her linkage of Dickinson to John Donne as The binding, and the print, poet’s linguistic experiments. Murray ac- the only poets in the entire history of English The sold book, possession, the review. knowledges that generative insight in Maid and American literature with a masterful gift Emily, where are you? as Muse: How Servants Changed Emily for conveying “the form of an idea” (10). Dickinson’s Life and Language, where she Go to her verse, reader, credits Taggard along with Pollitt and Jay Among Taggard’s writings, both before To the great verse. Leyda as important forebears. On the other and after The Life and Mind of Emily Here is nothing of hers. hand, this biography by a woman poet ac- Dickinson, were short autobiographical tively engaged in the literary scene of the pieces that reveal how little of her own ex- She will elude us all, 1920s and 1930s fails to anticipate feminist perience the later poet could have discov- Run from any but her own call. approaches to Dickinson. The personal re- ered in Dickinson’s. Where Dickinson re- Read her own page, reader. lationships Taggard stressed as central to mained firmly rooted in Amherst, Taggard Wait . . . read the great verse. Do not the poet’s life were all with men: her fa- moved frequently and rootlessly: from look up if you think you hear her. ther, Humphrey, Gould, and later Thomas Waitsburg, Washington, her birthplace; Do not for a moment stir. Wentworth Higginson. Of Higginson’s role, to Hawaii, where her parents served as She will come near, confidently nearer, Taggard declares, “he focused what other- missionaries; back to Waitsburg; back to Even as I write this, she is here. wise would have remained deranged: Em- Hawaii; to Berkeley, New York, Califor- ily’s picture of father and teacher and lover. nia, and many areas around the world – in- Otherwise she would have had only God” cluding Mallorca and the south of France. Genevieve Taggard’s “Dedication” to (180-81). Taggard writes disparagingly of Teaching assignments at Mount Holyoke, The Life and Mind of Emily Dickinson

8 | EDIS Bulletin Poet to Poet

Series Editor, Jonnie Guerra Waiting for Dickinson By Kate Daniels

I was mesmerized when I read Kate Daniels’ story of her journey with the poetry of Emily Dickinson and am confident that theBulletin’s reader- ship will be too. Daniels is the author of four volumes of poetry. The first two – The White Wave ( 1984), which won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, and The Niobe Poems (1988), recipient of honorable mention for the Paterson Poetry Prize – were published by the University of Pittsburgh. Her two later volumes, Four Testimonies (1998) and A Walk in Victoria’s Secret (2010), were published by Louisiana State Univer- sity Press as part of its Southern Messenger Series (selected by Dave Smith). Daniels is Director of Creative Writing at Vanderbilt University. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and magazines and are frequently anthologized. y mother was born in 1933 in Lan- overdone affect, were poems of a cer- Mcashire, England, part of one of the tain type: longish, rhymed and metered last generations of British schoolchildren narrative pieces with detailed character required to memorize long passages of po- development and powerful terminal clo- etry in grammar school. As a child of the sure. They tended to be didactic as well working class, she left school at fifteen, and to end in a highly moralizing man- and never set foot in a classroom again. ner. Thus, the resolution of the poems not A year later, only one month past her six- only provided a compelling rhythmic ex- teenth birthday, and five months pregnant, perience of finality, but often a stinging she boarded the Queen Mary ocean liner, warning, or even a rebuke, that solidly crammed full of young English, Irish, and gilded the lily of traditional poetic form. Scottish women – girls mostly – who were A prime example, and the one I loved the all traveling to the United States to be re- most, was Hillaire Belloc’s “Matilda.” A united with their American military hus- poetic rendering of the boy (in this case, bands. By the time she was twenty one, a girl like me) who cried wolf by false- she was settled in the U.S. as a British war ly reporting house fires, the poem ends bride and mother of four American chil- with its eponymous “heroine” burning to dren. As a Resident Alien, life was hard for death as punishment for her former lies: her in the American South of the 1950s. In that era, she stood out vividly as “an Oth- That Night a Fire did break out-- er” and was regarded as exotic, but suspi- You should have heard Matilda Shout! cious in that parochial time and place. Her You should have heard her Scream and manner of speaking was “different”; she Bawl, had a strong feeling for the arts; she was And throw the window up and call outspoken and feisty; and –perhaps most To People passing in the Street – threatening of all – she was Catholic. Her (The rapidly increasing Heat neighbors, coworkers, and even some of Encouraging her to obtain Photo Credit: Vanderbilt University my father’s family members didn’t hesitate Their confidence) – but all in vain! to single her out as a “foreigner.” It must have plest level, I believe they took her back to For every time she shouted “Fire!” been hard for her to hold onto a coherent sense a happier period of her life. In a more com- They only answered “Little Liar!” of herself. Perhaps that was why she clung, plicated way, perhaps they temporarily ar- And therefore when her Aunt returned, lifelong, to so many poems she remembered rested the destabilizing influence of external Matilda, and the House, were Burned. from her early childhood. assaults on her personal identity that kept on telling her she was not at home, that she did It must be obvious, then, that Mother’s rep- Out of the dozens of poems she had memo- not belong in the place she had chosen to ertoire did not include anything by Emily rized from the pages of Palgraves Golden make her life and raise her family. Dickinson – and not only because Dickinson Treasury, my mother built my love of poetry was from the “wrong” side of the pond (many and furnished my childhood with her recita- Of course, the poems she knew, and which of Longfellow’s poems would have fit easily tions of the poems she loved. On the sim- she recited to me with great flourish and into Palgraves), but because of everything

May/June 2013 | 9 Poet to Poet

that makes Dickinson Dickinson: her subver- Thus, the first Emily Dickinson I recall hav- poet, an unthreatening, diminutive lady ver- sive grammatical strategies, her addiction to ing in mind was barely of interest to me at sifier/devotional writer. We read her little ambiguity, her utter disinterest in straightfor- all – a mere blip on the screen of my liter- stanzas, and turned the pages of our readers, ward utterance, and her disdain for narrative ary imagination. The earliest poems I read barely ruffled . . . (“tell it slant”). Although my mother loved – “I’m Nobody”; “I like to see it lap the poetry unabashedly – all its music and mys- Miles – ” (Fr383); “A narrow Fellow in the Probably because my earliest introduction teries – the poems she gave me carried the Grass” (Fr1096) – are the ones that many of to poetry was so heavily slanted in favor of distinctive, imperial imprint of centuries of my baby boomer generation first knew – the narrative, I didn’t warm to Dickinson for de- literature emphasizing the importance of “be- more easily assimilated, supposedly child- cades. Because of my strong orientation to ing British.” They were tonally unambigu- like verses that the editors of mid-twentieth the storytelling aspect of poems, I tended to ous, often oratorical in voice, and tended to century elementary readers must have calcu- veer away from verse that didn’t get started thematically reinforce the collective virtues lated would appeal to us – or those that they moving in a dramatic fashion right away. I of duty and self denial, and – above all – of wanted to appeal to us. They were poems loved characters, place descriptions, action. keeping one’s doubts to oneself. In other that (on the surface, anyway) seemed to be I loved the old fashioned, rhetorical voic- words, the poems she recited emphasized the about the intense, but essentially very com- es of public poetry, proclaiming, orating, importance of being a team player, of sticking mon experience of being “little” in a large, preaching, and poems that didn’t waste any with the pack. What – finally – could be less grown up world; a poem about a snake; a time getting started. Thus, the quiet, brittle, like Emily Dickinson? poem about a train . . . psychologically incisive voice of the unas- suming lady poet from Amherst Village that So it was that I grew into poetry at a very Of course, that is not really what these po- carried the barely-buried ability to psychi- early age – beginning to “write” poems dur- ems are “about,” but these easily-swallowed, cally annihilate any reader’s self-delusions ing kindergarten before I could read any- thematic tags provided a convenient way for did not attract me when I was younger. thing at all, and when I could barely print editors (possibly perplexed by the complex- the letters of my name. My mother encour- ity of the work overall) to introduce Dickin- I wrote poetry, myself, all though elemen- aged me: I dictated, and she transcribed my son to a post-war readership that remained tary and high school, and though I was words onto pieces of construction paper that traumatized by World War II, the Holocaust, diverted often enough by Dickinson’s syn- I folded into “books” and illustrated with my the bomb. Striving to calm themselves by tactical oddities and her arresting tropes, I crayons. For several years, my introduction returning to pre-war “normality,” the era never tarried in her depths. Now, of course, to poetry took place in an imaginative space strove for political security, social confor- I wonder if my own lack of attachment to completely uninhabited by Emily Dickin- mity, and personal ease in the scheme of all Dickinson during those years had some kind son. I have been trying for the past several things. Meant to reassure, these were the of built in warning device that shooed me months to remember when I first read any- public virtues of our Cold War childhood. away from the invitation to plunge inside thing by her, but I can’t recall. I am sure, The real Emily Dickinson with her incisive one’s own psyche and confront the riches however, that I had some defined sense of depictions of psychic terror and transgres- and the rot residing there, side by side. her by fourth grade. That year, I had a re- sive explorations of personal identity and Unstable enough in my own identity, sur- markable teacher who noticed my love of the fragility of religious belief was anything rounded by family members struggling with reading. She filled a small bookcase just for but reassuring. Her poems provided no balm substance abuse, schizophrenia, and severe me in the back of the classroom with dozens for a public that was trying to pat itself back depression, and striving to lift myself up out of books of poetry and fiction, and then re- into order, in order to go on believing that of the working class environment that I had leased me from the dreary routines of class the world would continue more or less as been born into, I consciously experienced no work to sit by myself in a small glass-walled before – surely it would. When I go back temptation to enter Dickinson’s tiny, pouch- office, reading myself to paradise. I know and look at the anthologies and readers now, like poems that closed up immediately upon I knew Emily Dickinson by then because I it seems to me that the editors plucked out entry, drawing poet and reader into an im- recall sitting there on a sunny winter day, a few cover poems that provided a way for possibly close interaction. Unconsciously, looking out through the glass at bare gray Dickinson to pass into the mainstream of perhaps, I feared being trapped in the bag branches, and wondering what kind of poet American poetry during a time that was not with lines that left no possibility of misinter- would write: “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” psychologically prepared to read her, even preting their depiction of mental breakdown. (Fr260) Words that attracted but repelled as it recognized her special position in our me, too, with their confident embrace of national literature. In disguise, she passed And then a Plank in Reason, broke, self-erasure . . . into our midst, posing as a benign nature And I dropped down, and down –

10 | EDIS Bulletin Poet to Poet

And hit a World, at every plunge, of this new experience was a distinct turn exquisite pleasure by Dickinson’s psychic And Finished knowing – then – in my aesthetic taste. Immediately, I found insistence. (Fr340) myself drawn into a brand new, very in- * Although I could not consciously perceive tense identification with Dickinson’s poetry For many decades now, poets and psycho- the threat of psychic dissolution that her po- which I now saw as extraordinary beyond analysts have remarked upon the correspon- ems both explored and carried the potential anything else ever written by an American dences between their intensely contempla- to enact, I have come to believe that it was poet. Although I had taught Dickinson to tive, language-based disciplines. Besides this very characteristic that warned me away college students for twenty years by the a talent for rendering ideas and feelings from Dickinson. During all those years that time I entered analysis, I had most often into memorable speech, both require a ro- I more or less dismissed her as a poet of pas- taught her as a kind of object lesson for bust ability to endure alone-ness, to sit with toral and religious subject matter that “didn’t American women writers. As a feminist, I failure and uncertainty, and to return to the interest me,” perhaps I was really invoking focused on the example of her queer life, same texts again and again, re-imagining, some kind of unconscious self-protection. I of the obstacles she faced to authorship, of revising, rewriting. “The poets were there” like to think that Dickinson and her poetry her perseverance, of what Adrienne Rich – meaning the discovery of the unconscious waited for me until I was psychologically called, in “Vesuvius at Home,” the first mind – “before I was,” Freud said on many strong enough to endure encounters with American woman poet’s “life deliberately occasions. And in one of the most perfect poems like this: organized on her [own] terms.” descriptions of the psychoanalytic dimen- sions of poetry writing, Yeats described the I felt a Cleaving in my Mind – Sliding rapidly down into the psychic “moment of creation” as a psychic space As if my Brain had split – depths that opened to me early in my anal- on the border between sleep and wakeful- I tried to match it – Seam by Seam – ysis, however, the inspiring, iconic facts ness. Working there, he believed, poets were But could not make it fit – of Dickinson’s life slid away from me as drawn into a state of “trance, in which the irrevocably as water from a clenched fist. mind, liberated from the pressure of the The thought behind, I strove to join Suddenly, she was nothing but an interplay will is unfolded in symbols.” Perfectly, this Unto the thought before – of language and silence: pure poetry. Her describes the process of free association – But Sequence ravelled out of Sound – dense and enigmatic verses–characterized work that is as essential to psychoanalysis Like Balls – opon a Floor – by tightly compressed imagery, precise as it is to writing poetry. In the words of (Fr867) meter, and baffling conundrums, para- the contemporary analyst, Christopher Bol- * doxes, and reversals – compelled me both las, both poetry and psychoanalysis allow From the beginning, my personal prefer- in and out of sessions. At home, I awoke patient and poet alike “to hear from his or ence in poetry has been for an expansive from sleep with entire poems of hers that her own unconscious life.” It is an absolute verse line. The poets who set my heart on I did not know I had memorized zooming truism, then, that those uninterested in hear- fire – Pablo Neruda, Walt Whitman,- Mu through my mind. And in sessions, as I ing the news from their unconscious should riel Rukeyser, William Wordsworth, Allen lay on the couch, struggling with vertigo neither write a poem, nor go into therapy… Ginsberg, Adrienne Rich – wrote long, and with the intensity of my transferential Nor should they read the poetry of Emily generous, meandering poems. Many of feelings for my analyst, snippets of Dick- Dickinson . . . them had a gift for narrative, and I tried to inson began flying through my head: “To build my own work along the models they fill a Gap / Insert the Thing that caused Dickinson, of course, lived and wrote before provided. I carried this preference without it – ” (Fr647). “I like a look of Agony,” the advent of psychoanalysis. But one of the question until I was fifty years old. That (Fr339). “A Prison gets to be a friend – many remarkable features of her work is its year, however, in classic American midlife ” (Fr456). “Suspense – is Hostiler than pre-psychoanalytic prescience. Like analysis, fashion, the center stopped holding. I broke Death – ” (Fr775). And, of course (the her poetry is remarkably solitary and insight- down, and in order to put myself together context being psychoanalysis), “I’m No- oriented. It pursues its insights by the continual again, I entered psychoanalysis. The ther- body! Who are you?” reframing of context and received content. Al- apy I chose was old fashioned, expensive, though it is a quiet practice, it is relentless in and highly narrative. Four times a week, “They look like birds,” I reported to my ana- its ability to disturb, and it requires enormous I traveled to a small office to lie down on lyst. “They look like birds flying through my psychological courage in order to engage with a couch, with a mostly silent cipher of an mind, startled by gunshot out of a tree.” For it. Over and over, her poems decenter and de- analyst sitting behind me out of sight. I perhaps the first time, I entered deeply into talked; she listened. One of the first effects the experience of lyric form, pulled into that Continued on page 22

May/June 2013 | 11 Dickinson and the Arts

Series Editor, Barbara Dana

This is the first in the new series DICKINSON AND THE ARTS. We are seeking articles by artists in all fields of the Arts whose work has been inspired by Dickinson and by scholars and writers who have studied a Dickinson inspired artist and could share the artist’s experience of the poet. If you would like to contribute, please contact the editor of the Bulletin. Wasn’t She Just a Recluse? The Influence of Dickinson on the Life of the Artist She Inspires By Barbara Dana

riters and actors tend to identify with laugh when telling the story of a Thanks- write about someone like Margaret Mead, Wthe characters they portray. I know giving guest who announced, “I’m going or Hillary Clinton, someone who really got this from experience, which is why I had to have another piece of that apple pie if out there? I was beginning to make prog- misgivings about beginning a novel based it kills me,” took a bite of pie and dropped ress! I had just figured out that I could get on the childhood of Emily Dickinson. One dead. “It’s awful,” Bernice used to say ev- myself to leave my cave of many covers by of the first questions we ask ourselves (af- ery time she told the story, “but you have setting one simple goal: Get from the bed ter “Can I actually do this?”) is whether to laugh.” to the coffee maker. That was all I asked we want to spend weeks, months, or pos- of myself, not to be happy, or hopeful, sibly years in the emotional space required. Following these simultaneous traumatic not to buck up, not to force myself to do The fact that Dickinson became one of the events, I entered a deep depression. I need- something for someone less fortunate than greatest poets in history was a perk, but ed to get out, not live the life of someone I, just to get to the coffee machine. Things spending years inside the skin of a spunky who, however brilliant, ended up not leav- would move along from there. I would young girl who was headed for the life of ing her bedroom. The book would take push the “on” button. I would lean against an anxious recluse was not my idea of a at least two years! (It took ten.) Why not the counter and wait. I could handle that. good time. Childhood ex- I was “getting my groove perience would at the very back,” “moving on,” as least have played some we hear so much about part in the reclusiveness these days. Did I really of the poet. I would have want to go backwards? to immerse myself in all parts of her life. In the midst of my inde- cision I was asked by a Ultimately my immersion friend what I was going to would lead me not only write next. “I’m consider- to write about Dickinson, ing a novel about Emily but to inhabit her life on Dickinson,” I replied. the stage. The book came first, however, and start- “Wasn’t she just a re- ing to write proved dif- cluse?” ficult. My marriage of thirty-five years had just Not supportive, I thought. ended, my father had just And not true! Emily died, and my spiritual Dickinson may have been advisor had just hanged reclusive, but she was himself in his mother’s also a great poet! And she bathroom. You can laugh. did leave the house. Not My Aunt Bernice used to The author in The Belle of Amherst. Photo Credit: Sam Masinter in the manner to which we

12 | EDIS Bulletin Dickinson and the Arts

are accustomed, but her verses, her light, why. It was “a happen” beyond reason. I there were chicken bones, didn’t I tear into her very Essence spread out into the entire was being drawn to Emily Dickinson. Lit- the kitchen, screaming in my deepest, most world! tle did I know that our lives were about to death defying voice, “GET OUT OF THE be interwoven for Eternity. GARBAGE!!!” ??? Of course I did. That My friend’s comment only served to con- was me! Saving my dog’s life was as im- fuse my decision-making process. Maybe The greatest surprise as I worked on the portant to me as chasing the English out it was crazy to write a novel about some- book and later when I played Dickinson of France! I know that feeling! Now get one who never left the house. Where’s the on stage was that contrary to being drawn those bloody, murderous English bastards plot?? She becomes the greatest woman further back into reclusiveness, my identi- the hell out of France!!! Yes! And I was poet in the history of America! But is that fication with Emily did just the opposite. I there and I had found that color within my- enough? usually knew what to expect. When play- self and I had lived it!! I do the same thing ing Joan of Arc and in writing my novel when I write. To make something live I I continued to doubt my ability to write Young Joan there was no surprise. In each need to know what it feels like. the book, especially in my condition. Still instance, as I had expected (and hoped!), I thought that if I could manage to work it I found myself touched by Joan’s power. Sometimes we inhabit the skin of a charac- might provide a reason to get out of bed – Living in the center of her bravery was a ter without knowing it. This is what I most one that reached beyond a cup of coffee. call to my own. It wasn’t theoretical. I ac- feared in portraying Emily – the magnet that I have a friend who sometimes writes in tually experienced what I felt to be Joan’s would draw me inexorably into the center bed on her iPad, but that method had nev- strength, her daring, the power of her sim- of an oft-times tormented soul. During a re- er appealed to me. It didn’t feel like real plicity and devotion. Each time my work hearsal of “The Belle of Amherst,” William work even though my friend already had ended I felt like a shadow of my former Luce’s play about Dickinson, I was having two published books that had been writ- self. When one has saved France, how can trouble with the opening scene. I was anx- ten that way. Perhaps the need to write she be satisfied with deciding which paper ious, uncomfortable, self-conscious. When would get me out of bed, but it wouldn’t towels to buy at the A&P? I shared these thoughts with my director get me past the front door. (Who sounds Austin Pendleton, he smiled. “What’s Em- like Emily now?). I honestly didn’t think While playing a young girl in William In- ily feeling?” he asked. Of course! I had I could concentrate well enough to work ge’s play The Dark at the Top of the Stairs just described what Emily was feeling. She anyway. I could put it off for a while, but I spent months inside the panic she felt at- had just entered the parlor with a platter of why do that? I was never going to recover. tending her first dance at the country club, black cake to face a group of visitors when My writer friend with the iPad told me I the overwhelming shyness, the fear that she had seen virtually no one in years! (Ex- would be well in time, but I didn’t believe froze her mind and made her mute. I knew cept Vinnie and Maggie and the cats!) I got her. Other friends told me the same thing. what that was! Remember how I felt at the us mixed up! This is what happens, and an I didn’t believe them either. They didn’t Freshman Dance at Dalton in the white artist better be ready for it. know how I felt. dress with the strawberries on it, when not one boy from Calhoun asked me to Dance? I have been deeply affected by Dickinson, But Emily did. That’s me! Oh, God! Oh, No! but not in the way I had expected. What has influenced my life most strongly is not her Pain- has an Element of Blank – Writers and actors search for these con- reclusiveness, but her courage. I have been It cannot recollect nections. We strive to recognize them and living with Emily for over fifteen years When it begun – Or if there were hold fast, blurring the lines of distinction now and the changes in my life have been A time when it was not – between our selves and the people we por- astounding. I know that therapy, along with tray. My acting teacher, Uta Hagan, told us my own once-invisible-to-me strength, It has no future – but itself – to look for a time when we were like the played a major role in my healing, but Em- It’s Infinite contain character. There was a scene in which Joan ily was without a doubt a strong catalyst. It’s Past – enlightened to perceive of Arc had to bellow at the English troops, This morning I made a list of the changes, New Periods - of Pain. (Fr760) commanding them to get out of France. I most of which would never have happened would never do that, I thought. That color without her. After weeks of indecision – without warn- is not on my palette. I would never have ing – all reasoning stopped and I found the guts. Or the balls! But wait! When my 1. Left the house myself beginning the book. I can’t tell you dog got into the garbage, where I thought 2. Able to shop for food

May/June 2013 | 13 Dickinson and the Arts

3. Returned to acting Second on the list was another major one. I learned something about myself that 4. Joined EDIS, made new friends change. I had been living on Power Bars night, that my spirit, my power, my daring 5. Travelled to Japan, England, Canada, and suppers at the local café to avoid the was far greater than I had ever imagined, Hawaii, etc. for EDIS meetings & con- panic attack I inevitably suffered in the even when playing Joan of Arc! ferences parking lot of the neighborhood supermar- 6. First non-fiction book published Wid( - ket. After a couple of months of Dickinson My time with Emily is teaching me a lot er than the Sky, co-edited with Cindy research I tried again. I was filled with about life, including the importance of be- MacKenzie) the same panic. And then – a lifesaving ing true to one’s self, of speaking one’s 7. Finished Dickinson novel, published thought! Emily had panic attacks. I can truth, of admitting what one sees and ex- 2009 (A Voice of Her Own) use this in my book. A witness! Who was periences and not hiding from that. I have 8.Addressed large groups around the watching the panic attack? Me! There ex- learned about the power of words, the pre- U.S. (Dickinson workshops, lectures, isted a part of me that was not inside the ciousness of life, the power of devotion to book signings, etc.) panic! The next day I bought some fruit. one’s work, and the wisdom of paradox. I 9. Served on a panel at Oxford Univer- (I’ve been shopping ever since.) often see things in Emily that I can’t see in sity (never went to college) myself, but seeing them in her serves as a 10. Learned about myself Another change was returning to the stage bridge to discovering them in the map of 11. Learned about life and philosophy where I hadn’t been for a long time, not my own psyche, things like the complex- 12. Led funeral service (with minister) just playing the lead, but as the only person ity of her feelings toward her parents; the exclusively containing the poems and on the stage! It was at the 2009 EDIS meet- breadth of her passion for writing; her take thoughts of ED ing in Regina, hosted by Cindy MacKen- on religion; her dislike of dusting; her in- 13. Did extensive research at Harvard zie. The night before the performance I ability to picture her own death. In a let- and Amherst College (never went to col- was terrified. What was I thinking? Had I ter to Abiah Root in January, 1846 (L10), lege) actually agreed to portray Emily Dickin- Emily states “it does not seem to me that 14. Lectured on ED’s power to heal at son alone on stage for two hours in front I shall ever cease to live on earth – I can- the Geisinger Medical Center in PA (with of an audience of Dickinson scholars? Was not imagine with the farthest stretch of my Cindy MacKenzie) I mad? “Much madness is divinest Sense –” imagination my own death scene –.” She 15. Acted throughout the US and in Can- (Fr620) came the whisper from Infinity. That expresses these thoughts in The Belle of ada in The Belle of Amherst (four years) calmed me down a bit. As I lay in bed in Amherst. In experiencing Emily’s diffi- my darkened hotel room I thought about culty in picturing her own death scene, I Fifteen changes in fifteen years! And that Emily. What would she have to say about remembered a conversation I had with my was just the beginning! all this? My first thought was surprising: “I mother when I was four in which I asked dwell in Possibility.” How would that ap- her if everyone died. “Yes,” she said. “But The first change was the most surpris- ply? My brain raced ahead. OK. This could not me,” came the response from deep ing. Emily Dickinson helped me leave the be a disaster. But it could also be adequate. within the omnipotence of my four year- house?? Ironic, but true. I attribute this Or excellent. I have no way of knowing. If old self. “You will too,” said my mother. to many factors, not the least of which is I’m going to do this, I have to be willing to How furious I became, how betrayed I felt! her uncanny ability to verbalize the un- go “out there” accepting that each of these How could my mother say such a thing? sayable, to look squarely into the dark- outcomes is possible. I have to look all Isn’t she on my side anymore? est, innermost chambers of her mind and three scenarios squarely in the face and go tell it like it is. She knew where I was. I out on that stage and do the show anyway. A recent birthday was shocking for me. was not alone. She saw me. She had been And, thanks to Emily, I did. Something about the round number, the de- there and had survived to tell the tale: “Af- marcation in my stubborn mind: I am now ter great pain, a formal feeling comes –” When I did the play a few months ago an an old person, close to the age of death. (I (Fr372); “Will there really be a “morn- extraordinary thing happened. As I got to was exaggerating, but unaware of the fact.) ing”?” (Fr148); “We grow accustomed the moment of reciting “Wild Nights,” I Not me, I protested! In some ways I was to the Dark –” (Fr428); “Heart! We will found myself soaring on the back of Em- still four! But my journey with Dickinson forget him” (Fr64); “A great Hope fell” ily. I wasn’t performing the play. She was. I flows in many directions. I’m just - finish (Fr1187); “I got so I could take his name was along for the ride. I felt a kind of pow- ing work on a play with music in which –” (Fr292); and on and on, messages from er, an ecstasy that I had never known and my sister in Eternity. it was hers and it was mine and we were Continued of page 24

14 | EDIS Bulletin Teaching Dickinson

Series Editor, Marianne Noble Supposed Persons: Emily Dickinson and “I” By Joy Ladin

Joy Ladin, Gottesman Professor of English at Stern College of Yeshiva University, is the author of six books of poetry, including recently pub- lished The Definition of Joy, as well as a memoir, Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders. She has written a book-length study of Dickinson’s place in American poetry, Soldering the Abyss: Emily Dickinson and Modern American Poetry.

made my way across the frozen lawn of The body and the life that went with it. In other Whatever existential wildernesses I wander, IEmily Dickinson Homestead to the Amherst words, my “I” referred to someone I both was I count on Dickinson to have been there and Women's Club and squeezed myself into one and wasn't, to a body and biography that never done that, to have written poems that provide of the last seats left in a large oval of people felt like mine. My “I” also referred to the ironic pungent, precise language for what seems to me who braved the bitter January cold to explore consciousness hiding behind and pulling the unspeakably confusing and mysterious. I don't the shortest, most frequently used and most strings of my male persona. This binary “I” think Dickinson was transgender, but the speak- important word in Dickinson's poetic lexicon: was remarkably stable – I lived that way for ers in her poems, like many trans people, tend to “I.” Though I'd been leading occasional ses- decades – but my two “I”s whirled around one locate themselves along margins and boundar- sions of The Emily Dickinson Museum Poetry another in irresolvable cycles of self-doubt. ies – at home while everyone else is in church, Discussion Group for years, I was nervous, Was I my lived male persona, or my unlived dying while everyone else is alive, bemusedly and not just because I'd missed the notifica- gender female identity, or, perhaps, the whirl embarking on the interminable carriage-ride tion that the group had been moved from the of doubt, the consciousness of my inability to toward “Immortality.” Rather than withdraw- Homestead to the Amherst Women's Club establish a unitary sense of self? ing because they don't fit into the usual social and so was arriving late. I knew that while we slots, Dickinson's marginal speakers rhetori- were talking about Dickinson's “I,” I would be Now that I live as a woman – it's thinking about mine. been almost six years – my “I” refers neither to a persona nor to I had solid academic reasons for planning a ironic distance but to me, Joy, my discussion on this subject. The “I” in Dickin- true self. But as I was reminded son's poems seems both idiosyncratic and un- during pre-discussion chitchat, it's comfortably familiar (few of us introduce our- still not clear what it means when selves, as one of Dickinson's speakers does, by I say “I.” One discussion group saying “I am alive – I guess,” but many of us member, who'd taken a class I'd have muttered something like it to ourselves). taught years ago as a man, intro- She was simultaneously a self-abasing “No- duced herself as though we'd never body” and a confident exemplar of Shelley's met. I didn't explain. Even I am not vision of the poet as “legislator of reality,” ef- sure how “I” can signify both my fortlessly inverting, subverting and rewriting life as a woman and my life as a the terms of life, death, soul, God, and eternity. man, whether the supposedly uni- tary female “I” that I presented to But I also had a personal stake in this subject. I her conceals, reconciles, or height- hoped that our exploration of Dickinson's first- ens the contradiction between my person pronoun would teach me what I meant past persona and present self. My by mine. “I” doesn't represent a fixed con- junction of biology, biography, When I began teaching Dickinson's poetry at and consciousness, but an ongo- what was then The Emily Dickinson Home- ing process of self-definition. That stead back in 1998, my first-person pronouns sounds marvelously post-modern, referred to “Jay,” a male persona I created to but I'd be much more comfortable hide the female gender identity that, since ear- if I knew more about what, or per- ly childhood, had estranged me from my male haps how, my “I” means. Photo Credit: Lisa Ross

May/June 2013 | 15 Teaching Dickinson cally plant themselves at the center of signify- ever, as we examined Dickinson's statement “Nobody” heightens our sense of intimacy, ing and significance, forcing us to wrench our of this principle, we noticed how peculiar her confessing a lack of social status that most of values and perspectives out of our usual frames terms are, how hard it was to pin down what us would try to hide when introducing our- to construe their mesmerizing soliloquies. she means by “state myself” and “Representa- selves to a stranger. But though the unguarded tive of the Verse.” Like Walt Whitman, Dick- “Nobody” makes us feel close to the speaker, I wanted to learn to say “I” to this student in inson seemed to trying to turn the language of “I'm Nobody” (Dickinson may have borrowed that way, but couldn't see how to translate the democracy into the language of poetics. But it from Homer’s tale of Odysseus outsmart- power of Dickinson's poetic “I” into practical does “Representative of the Verse” mean that ing the Cyclops) also erases the speaker’s strategies of self-articulation. It would have the “I” in Dickinson's poems is analogous to biographical self, turning “I” from a sign of been socially and pedagogically disastrous an elected political representative, as her father identity into a sign of lack of identity – a lack to explain to my former student that she had had been? If so, what constituency does “I” of identity the speaker embraces as an identity. indeed met me before, back when I had been represent? Does Dickinson's poetic “I,” like afraid to own a body and afraid to own my Whitman's, “contain multitudes”? Though I didn't share this with the group, the soul, when my life had stood in corners like self-erasing self-definition “I'm Nobody” crys- a loaded gun. But Dickinson's speakers in- We noticed that the epistolary “I” through tallizes what I meant by “I” when I was living troduce themselves in these very terms, and which Dickinson “states herself” in the letter, as a man: “I” referred to the consciousness that somehow persuade us to try to figure out what seems to contain, if not multitudes, at least two I had no visible, lived identity, no place in the they mean by “I” rather than imposing our distinct subject positions – the self-abasing social order, no way to name myself except by usual assumptions upon them. self, who, pathetically grateful for Higginson's negation (“I’m not a man. Who are you?”). I instruction, insists, “You see my posture is be- would never have voiced this self-definition, I decided to begin this class with Dickinson's nighted,” and the self-aggrandizing self who would never have turned “I’m Nobody” from own explanation of what “I” in her poems instructs Higginson on how to read her poems. shamed self-awareness into a declaration of means in her July 1862 letter to Thomas Went- It was clear that Dickinson wanted Higginson identity. But the speaker of “I’m Nobody” isn't worth Higginson: “When I state myself, as the to read “I” in her poetry as signifying “sup- ashamed to lack socially sanctioned identifi- Representative of the Verse – it does not mean posed persons” rather than her biographical, ers. Far from it. The speaker seems to equate – me – but a supposed person.” Dickinson, epistle- and poem-writing self, but it wasn't that being “Nobody” with being a “Repre- not otherwise known for stating her poetics, clear what kind of self the first-person pro- sentative” self, a self with which others can seems determined to teach her “Preceptor” to nouns in the letter signified. identify. The speaker’s cheerful abdication of distinguish her poetic I from her biographical social status is followed by an invitation to an I, the selves she “supposes” on the page from To explore these questions, we turned to one of other (“Who are you? / Are you – Nobody – the living, breathing self that supposed them. Dickinson's most accessible poems, one which too?”) to join the “I'm Nobody” bandwagon. It's a dance teachers and critics have been do- translates her theory of a non-biographical po- All of us in the class felt the pull of this invita- ing since the heyday of New Criticism – the etic “I” directly into practice: tion. By the third line, we all seemed to have very heyday that, not coincidentally, also in- signed onto the speaker’s populist campaign to cluded Dickinson's relocation from regionalist I'm Nobody. Who are you? invert the social hierarchy and redefine being marginality to the canonical center of Ameri- Are you – Nobody – too? “Nobody” as an exclusive social club (“Then can literature. Dickinson's poetic achievement Then there's a pair of us! there's a pair of us! / Don't tell!”) and being couldn't be recognized until readers learned to Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know! “Somebody” as an exercise in public self-hu- forestall the impulse to read her engrossingly miliation, a sign, as one participant put it, that idiosyncratic, intimate first person as biogra- How dreary – to be – Somebody! one is “acting like a frog in heat.” phy (there she is, forever pining over lost love, How public – like a Frog – effusing ecstatically in a meadow, staring down To tell one's name – the livelong June – By “stating the self” as “Nobody” – by sever- a patriarchal God), and respond to it as art. To an admiring Bog! (Fr260) ing the link between “I” and biographical iden- tity – the speaker stages a small-scale coup, Of course, that's easier said than done. Every As we noticed, the informal contraction “I'm” establishing a two-quatrain rhetorical polis semester, my students and I spend hours learn- immediately made us feel close to the speak- open to all willing to renounce their identifi- ing to navigate the labyrinths between literary er. “I'm,” our most intimacy-promoting form cations with social categories and hierarchies, and authorial “I”s. But the Dickinson Museum of self-definition, suggests minimal distance and snicker at “Somebodies” who continue to Poetry Discussion group has been at this for between signifier and signified, “I” and the cling to them. years; participants took it for granted that “I” in identity of the speaker who feels comfort- Dickinson's poems was referred to a “supposed able enough with us to say “I’m” even in the As we marveled over the power of Dickinson's person” rather than Dickinson herself. How- rhetoric-inflating arena of poetry. The word non-biographical poetic “I,” we noticed that

16 | EDIS Bulletin Teaching Dickinson

the poem's “I” has a lot in common with the mediately noted, while the speaker of “I'm No- `Wife',” Dickinson supposes a person who presumably biographical “I” in Dickinson’s body” delights in being a “Nobody,” the quo- can't solve the problem, can't erase, escape letter to Higginson. As in the poem, in the let- tation marks around “`Wife'” show us that “I” or redefine the terms of female identity, only ter Dickinson is preoccupied with self-defini- is reluctant to embrace the identity of “Wife” hold them at arm's length, between quotation tion and social hierachy: her biographical “I” even though, as she says, “Wife” moves her to marks. signifies a literary nobody whose recognition the top (“I'm Czar – I'm `Woman' now –“) of as a poet is entirely in the hands of the offi- the female status hierarchy. The very biography that made it hard for the cial literary Somebody she addresses. Like the speaker to define herself should have made it poem, the letter uses self-definition to invert Those quotation marks frustrate the process of easy for us to define the difference between social hierarchy. Sometimes “I” abases itself self-definition, noting the speaker's difficulties her “I” and Dickinson's. The speaker is mar- (“Preceptor, I shall bring you – obedience”), in defining herself as “Wife.” But we found ried; Dickinson was single. The speaker has creating something akin to a master-slave rela- that the quotation marks themselves define the been elevated to a commanding, “Czar”-like tionship with her “Preceptor.” In other phrases, speaker, locating her “I” in the liminal space social position; Dickinson lived as an un- “I” reverses the see-saw, putting Higginson in where biographical identifiers such as “Wife” married daughter in her father's house. The his place with lordly rhetoric that borders on and “Woman” (also pincered between quota- speaker feels as distant from “the Girl's life” condescension: “Perhaps you smile at me. I tion marks) are, or aren't, internalized as terms as “folks in Heaven” feel from life on Earth; could not stop for that – My Business is Cir- of self-definition. The speaker isn't allergic to Dickinson's recurring presentation of herself in cumference.” Like the “I”in “I'm Nobody,” the self-definition per se; we noticed that she has child-like rhetorical poses suggests that for her “I” in the letter “states itself,” creating a rhetor- no typographically-denoted qualms about the there was never a decisive break between “the ical “state” in which “I”'s passive-aggressive non-biographical assertion “I'm Czar.” But Girl's life” and that of “Woman.” self-definitions define her addressee. from first line to last, whenever she tries to de- fine herself in the terms by which her society Here, then, is the clear distinction between But what, we wondered, do these similari- denotes mature female identity, she breaks out poetic and biographical “I” that Dickinson ties mean about the “I” in the letter, in which in quotation marks. decreed in her letter to Higginson. But as we Dickinson declares, “When I state myself, as strove to bring this supposed not-Dickinson the Representative of the Verse – it does not In “I'm Nobody,” the speaker turns a mar- into focus, we kept running aground on those mean – me – but a supposed person.” What ginalizing social identifier into an exuberant, quotation marks. about that first “I?” Does that refer to “the real coalition-building, hierarchy-upending self- Emily”? Or is the “I” that states the theory of definition. In “I'm `Wife',” the speaker's inabil- As one participant pointed out, putting “`Wife'” supposed persons itself a supposed person? Or ity either to embrace the terms through which in quotation marks constitutes a scorched- maybe the similarity between letter and poem her society defines her, or, like the speaker of earth critique of the term, the social status it works the other way – maybe the “I” in the “I'm Nobody,” redefine them, strands her in denotes, and the gender hierarchy that sustains poem is closer to Dickinson herself than she self-doubt and isolation. She is a “supposed that status. But as another noted, the speaker wanted her readers to think. person” who isn't willing to acquiesce to the herself doesn't seem to be making this critique. biographically-based suppositions that she She is painfully sincere in her efforts to under- To explore this conundrum, I suggested that is “Wife” and “Woman,” a person who sees stand herself as “Wife” and “Woman,” and we turne to “I'm `Wife',” a poem in which “I” those suppositions, whatever their social ben- sincerely pained by her failure to fully “state clearly signifies a supposed person whose life efits, as misrepresenting the “I” they define. herself” in those terms. In other words, the differs crucially from Dickinson's: quotation marks reflect two different perspec- If the speaker were simply uncomfortable tives, two different speakers jostling within the I'm `Wife' – I've finished that – with female identity, we could supply the first-person pronoun: a supposed “I” who can't That other state – self-defining word she and her culture lacked: figure out what's going wrong in her effort to I'm Czar – I'm `Woman' now – “transgender.” But since she speaks wistfully define herself as “Wife,” and an authorial “I” It's safer so – (Fr225) and without quotation marks of “the Girl's who holds the term “Wife” up for satirical in- life” in the second stanza, we can't tell if her spection by the reader. In other words, “I” is Like “I'm Nobody,” “I'm `Wife'” is a poem of problem is gender identity, or the more gen- both a biographical signifier that points to the self-definition; both poems begin with the in- eral problem all people, trans or not, confront, life of a supposed, married woman, and a non- timacy-engendering contraction “I'm,” and in when socially, biographically apt terms for our biographical signifier that points to the actual both poems, the second words of self-defini- identities don't fit our sense of who we are. The intellectual perspective of the author. tion make it clear that what the speakers mean speaker of “I'm Nobody” solves this problem by “I” is more complicated than the rhetorical by embracing a social identifier that erases the The more we discussed these meanings of “I,” ease of “I'm” suggests. But as the group im- link between “I” and biography. But in “I'm the harder it became to clearly distinguish be-

May/June 2013 | 17 Teaching Dickinson

tween them. The supposed-person “I” shares the “I” in the last line. Does the exclama- that the body, biography, and male roles to- her author's alienation from the socially de- tion “I'm `Wife'!” represent the pro-“Wife” ward which my first-person pronouns pointed fined terms for female identity. The authorial voice’s triumph in defining the speaker's weren't what I meant by “I.” In fact, until I read “I” shares the supposed person's experience of identity, despite the hesitation represented by Dickinson's poem, I didn't think anyone else the tragic inadequacy of those terms, her bitter the quotation marks? Or, does it show the knew, or that language could represent, the failure to recognize herself in them. alienated side's triumph in showing that even hell of uncompletable self-definition. Dickin- if the speaker can't escape what one partici- son, I realized, with a rush of gratitude that still When we turned to the speaker’s emphatic pant called “the life sentence” of “I'm Wife,” brings tears to my eyes, had used the very in- declarations in the last two lines of the poem, the speaker will never fully define herself that adequacy of the language of self-definition to the meaning of “I” fractured further. The first way? articulate what her speaker and I meant by “I.” stanza's halting, dash-riddled reflections attest to the speaker's internal argument, her struggle But if “I” can simultaneously represent self- As I had throughout the class, I kept my trans to convince herself that the power, or at least definition and rejection of self-definition, what perspective on Dickinson to myself. We're still protection, that “Wife” confers should over- does “I” mean? Not the coherent, univocal a long way from the time when someone can come her sense that it doesn't fit her. In the identity most of us, including Dickinson in say “I'm transgender” and expect the sort of second stanza, this argument dissolves into a her instruction to Higginson on how to read response I get when I say “I'm middle-aged” dreamy reflection analogizing speaker's now- her poetic “I,” act as if the first-pronoun repre- or “I'm Jewish.” The discussion wasn't about ended “Girl's life” to “Earth” remembered by sents. In “I'm `Wife,'” “I” is a microphone tus- what my “I” meant; it was about the meaning “folks in Heaven”: sled over by competing definitions of self: “I'm of “I” in Dickinson. Wife – that's how others see me, and that's how How odd the Girl's life looks I see myself”; “I might as well be Wife – that's Several participants were openly disturbed by Behind this soft Eclipse – how others see me, that's the role I play and the self-fragmentation we glimpsed in “I'm I think that Earth feels so those are the privileges I enjoy, and `it's safer `Wife'.” They wondered whether this “sup- To folks in Heaven – now – so'”; “No matter how biography and social sta- posed person” was an individual case study, or tus define me, I will never define myself as “Representative” of Dickinson's understand- But in the third stanza, internal argument turns “Wife.” This “I” represents not a self but an ing, or even biographical experience, of iden- into a shouting match, as the speaker's “I” be- ongoing struggle for self-definition that can tity. Did Dickinson think all identities were gins to split under the strain of trying to define never be resolved because there are no terms multiple and incoherent, one asked. Or was herself as “Wife”: that enable the speaker to whole-heartedly she writing out of her personal experience of This being comfort – then – complete the sentence “I’m …” disintegration? That other kind – was pain – But why compare? The speaker of “I'm Nobody” avoids this It was somewhat reassuring to them to re- I'm `Wife'! Stop there! struggle by performing social jujitsu on the member that Dickinson's portrayal of “I” term “Nobody,” flipping it from a term of as ongoing process rather than static signi- With “But why compare?,” we saw that the denigration into a term of superiority. But to fier places her firmly in the line of American speaker’s inability to define herself by either the speaker of “I'm `Wife',” the term “`Wife'” thought that stretches back to Emerson and fully embracing or completely rejecting the doesn't seem denigrating or marginalizing; for forward to the Pragmatist philosophy and identity of “Wife” had fractured her into two reasons she doesn't, and probably can't, articu- psychology of William James, and that, as competing perspectives. Technically, the poem late, the identity of “Wife” simply doesn't fit. we had seen in our discussion of the letter to is still a monologue spoken by a single “sup- As a result, self-fragmenting argument is the Higginson, Dickinson's “I” is akin to Whit- posed person,” but in the last line’s exclama- closest she can come to self-definition – and man's. But Whitman's “I” is a centrifugal pro- tion points, our group heard one voice within only those who recognize that will understand cess of expansion through identification; his the speaker – the voice insisting she accept what she means when she says “I.” speakers never complete their self-definitions “Wife” as her identity – attempting to shout not because they lack terms with which to down the skeptical, alienated side that con- This seemed clear to me from my first reading identify, but because they identify with every tinues to question the implications and conse- of the poem. I was in my mid-twenties, and I term they can think of. Despite the populism quences of being “Wife.” had been stuck on the gerbil wheel of frustrat- of the speaker of “I'm Nobody,” Dickinson is ed self-definition since childhood. “I'm `Jay',” less interested in self-expansion than in the As we discussed the end of the poem, we re- I'd say, when I introduced myself. No one alized that we couldn't tell which voice was heard the quotation marks, no one recognized Continued on page 24

18 | EDIS Bulletin Emily Dickinson has been fictionalized many times (a quick survey by theBulletin’s book review editor produced eighteen titles). Fictionalizing the poet is one of the ways in which readers throughout the world have sought to realize their imaginative engagement. It is thus exciting to learn about the most recent writer to explore and publish her fascination in this way, Despina Lala Crist, a Greek author of novels, short stories, and fiction, most recently Nostos: A Voyage of the Heart’s Return (1992; translation, Seaburn 2001). Her husband, Robert Crist – Professor Emeritus, University of Athens – is her translator. The biographical novel Emily Dickinson: Goddess of the Volcano (to be published on-line by Amazon in 2013) presents Dickinson’s psychological and poetic world. Erotic Melodies By Despina Lala Crist

Translated from the Greek by Robert L. Crist

wanting, the poem de- our dear Emily!” she exclaimed, “And here’s manding, and the least my good friend and classmate, Kate Anton!” interruption of feeling The two women looked at one another. Their and thought was dis- observations, keen and quick, spun through tressing. their minds. “What a beautiful woman!“ Em- ily thought. “What a spiritual presence!” Kate She stood before Sue, perceived. Spontaneously the two embraced questioning, waiting. and kissed, and the three of them began to “Kate Scott Anton is laugh spiritedly. coming!” Sue excit- edly announced. “We Like a heroine from the pages of Henry James, are expecting you for Kate had declared her freedom by frequent dinner at six! Don’t trips to Europe. She always visited only the refuse! Isn’t it won- capitals, her aim knowledge of European cul- derful! Don’t refuse, ture and the enjoyment of select company. She dear. . . .” She was so took long vacations in luxurious hotels, going excited by the coming to museums, visiting galleries, and attending of her friend that she theatrical productions without concern for ex- did not wait for a reply, penses or social disapproval. She had inherited but – blowing Emily a much at the cost of great pain from the death The author with her translator and husband, Robert Crist. kiss – dashed gaily off, of her husband, her brother and beloved sister. as Emily continued to Death had marched through her life, but now Exhilaration – is within – concentrate on the word she was seeking for life belonged to her, and she compensated for There can no Outer Wine a poem. the absence of loved ones through close ties to So royally intoxicate friends like Sue and acquaintances in Europe. As that diviner Brand . . . (Fr645) It was a gentle spring afternoon in 1859, and Whenever she returned to her home city of Al- soft reddish-yellow sunlight permeated the bany, fifty miles from Amherst, she was sure to parks and gardens of Amherst. Within an hour visit The Evergreens. rom the niche under the stairs in the she was at Sue’s door wearing the new dress Homestead – the Northwest Passage, as F that her father had brought from Washing- The select company that evening began their they called it – Sue called out: “Emily! Em- ton. She knocked and entered at once, finding menu with special appetizers – caviar, lobster, ily! Come down!” She would not go up to herself in a celebrative atmosphere. Sue had and shrimp. They continued with beef or trout, Emily because what she had to say was so filled the living room with flowers and sweets. with a green salad from Sue’s garden, and they wonderful she wanted to share in their special Dressed in her finest clothes, she was stand- concluded with ice cream with strawberries, retreat. Emily descended, a forced smile on her ing by a tall, striking young woman whom also from the garden. It was a dinner of ex- face. She was hard at work. Time was always she enthusiastically brought forward. “Here’s quisite flavors. The girls arose from the table,

May/June 2013 | 19 having already drunk two glasses of red wine. her, raised Emily high in intense personal joy. words meant – or what relation they bore to Carrying a third, they proceeded to the living It elevated her to the ecstasy of the highest sen- the region in which she found herself – she room flushed with pleasure that flowed from suous excitement. remained suspended, and then she felt the their deep affinity. Austin’s tie to Sue and Em- grip of a hand on her arm, the fingers tight- ily was deep, but he was unable to participate Transcendence – that matchless ineffable sen- ening. Her mind as yet distant, she neither fully in the excitement of the evening. Emily sation – had seized her! heeded the irrelevant contact, nor recognized sat down at the piano and played a medley of the voice which insisted, “Your mother wants old-time favorites as the light of sunset which With a life of their own, her fingers deftly you, Emily. . . .” The voice repeated, “Emily, had tinted the room in gentle pink-orange ranged the keys. Her notes and those of the your mother wants you,” as the hand guided modulated to dark purple, leading the hosts to instrument, like sparkling fireworks, lifted her her out of the living room, into the hall, and light the lamps in the house. and delivered her to the colors of transcen- down the stairs. She lifted her eyes to the star- dence – scarlet, indigo, and azure streaked filled sky and saw the stars beholding her with Suddenly Emily stepped to the lamp on the with yellow. In her own world, body throb- wonder, but before she had time to react, her small table by the piano, and blew out the bing in volcanic explosions, she beheld flames father shouted, “Let’s go home, now, Emily!” flame, and before she could get to the lamp made of notes, and within her she felt the quak- and Emily suddenly crumbled. The moment on the table by the wall, Sue had blown it out, ing of the eruption, syllables flashing like fire of ecstasy was shattered, joy scattered to the laughing in a tone filled with significance as a and crescendos burning fountains of ecstasy. winds, and the weight of her flesh dragged her thought took her breath away, “Now Kate will Incredible sensuality reigned. The words, the into an alien, absurd place that shook her spirit understand what ‘Goddess of the Volcano’ notes, were exhaustless within her. The volca- and wrenched her body. means!” no erupted and lava dissolved, melting all ties to mundane things. She heard the thump of her soul falling, and Lighting candles throughout the room, Austin sensed the hand of the man they called her fa- sank into a comfortable armchair as far as he The others – souls and bodies magnetized ther on her arm. He had pulled her away from could get from the piano. Kate chose a seat on – could not endure the pressure. First, Aus- the piano, away from the living room, away the piano bench very close to Emily and, mes- tin sprang to his feet and fled up the stairs. from ecstasy, saying in a caring voice, “Watch merized, she watched the suggestion of a smile Kate was trembling. The primal journey had your step, Emily!” as he raised the lantern to play on her dimly lit face. As Emily’s long fin- enmeshed her to exotic folds of desire, and light the way which she knew with her eyes gers stroked the keys like a caress, with quick panting she remained fixed to the piano bench shut. It was the familiar path she had taken time pants Kate breathed the rising notes. beside the shooting flames. Sue, who had ex- and time again, but now she saw the whole perienced such moments before, breathlessly scene from far above – her father’s long arms, The soft waves of a gentle sea drenched their imbibed her wine, drinking in the rare moment his fingers tense on her arm. He was guiding faces and refreshed their bodies. They shivered of liberation and joy, unable to extricate her- her in a peculiar manner that was a blend of with deep feeling as the fingers continued to self from the rule of the Goddess of the Vol- authority, protectiveness, and tenderness. The dance in a special way, sometimes with a pow- cano, who mercilessly swept her to matchless lantern cast a dim light on his face, which was erful thrust, and sometimes barely skimming heights and pushed her to terrifying limits. dour, determined, filled with sadness and con- the keys in singing waves that induced a stir- Fearing she had reached the breaking point, cern for her welfare – and she saw that his was ring excitement. Each note added to the feel- she turned her head toward the window and an arrested, automatized being: rigid, distant, ing as the ripples of music suddenly shot into glimpsed a figure rushing toward The - Ever completely alone, he was wasting his life on an the air and then fell on bodies with a powerful greens’ door. She breathed a sigh of relief. idol he fashioned in his mind and which he im- splash that penetrated the soul and flesh with posed on himself and others. Himself its slave, delicious poignancy. With a lantern to light his way on the path, Em- he called it “responsibility,” and it led his entire ily’s anxious father was coming to rescue her. family to the dark, narrow path of his making. The candle light danced quickly in the ecstasy Sue gratefully slipped into the hall, opened the of sound and grew calm as the notes soothed. door, briefly greeted her father-in-law with re- What irony, what a lie, what a trap! Who could Emily added her voice to the melody. Filled lief, and with head lowered stepped to Emily’s throw off such a yoke of “protection”? Emily with erotic joy, arpeggios mounted higher side. “Emily,” she whispered, “your father . . .” beheld her mother, Vinnie, herself, and Aus- and higher, wrapping her spirit in velvet; her – and then, more loudly, “Your father, Emily!” tin – who had such promise of glowing life insatiable soul kept expanding. Time was – swept round in the orbit of an extinguished cancelled, place was erased, her friends trans- Though she was jolted, Emily’s voice lingered sun. Terrified, Emily was seized by knowl- formed, absorbed into the throbbing unity of in the melody and her fingers dwelt a mo- edge she had always possessed but had been the moment. Erotic vitality, splendid within ment on the keys. Unable to grasp what the unable into drag to the light. Now, however,

20 | EDIS Bulletin the thought rose and lay bare the world as it The boot, indifferent, awaited for the lady to her father – how much she had adored Jenny was. She saw the ways of mankind, especially take command – an event that had already be- Lind and her fiancé, Otto Goldschmidt. The when it came to belief – how they imprisoned gun to take shape. couples’ divine love, Jenny’s heavenly voice, God and kept Jesus nailed on the cross, replac- and her splendid gown had sealed a radiant ing spiritual enlightenment with empty words. Weeks had passed and still thoughts of Sue’s image in Emily’s heart: “Her heavenly eye- It was a sudden and terrible revelation for Em- party brought an erotic shiver. Kate, a sweet brows, her plaintive notes, wild and com- ily: imprisoned by words, people laid down memory, was already on other side of the At- manding, the panther and the dove, each so the path of their fate and followed it blindly. lantic. Resuming her partying, she neglected innocent.” There was a flaw in human perception that writing Emily. Yet Emily still felt the embrace distorted the natural world, society, the fam- of her fiery farewell. She still tasted her burn- Thus Emily described the couple she had ily and even what was called the Divine! That ing kiss. viewed that unforgettable night. Recalling was the original sin, which had marked human Jenny and looking at Kate, she said, “But you existence over the ages and had waylaid even The day after the party, right after twelve noon, are even more beautiful!” As she tenderly ca- the ecstasy of love. Emily had gone to The Evergreens to be with ressed Kate’s cheek, the trembling of her hand Sue and Kate. They said nothing about the was transferred to her friend. It was a moment Weighed down by sadness, Emily climbed evening before – the vibrant piano, the intense of overpowering emotion, and as Kate bent the stairs one-by-one to her bedroom think- singing, Edward Dickinson’s rushing to the and pressed her face against Emily’s deeply ing, “Nevertheless, my father is a good man scene. Not a word of all that – just a few hints flushed cheek, the door opened and - Sueen who always desires our welfare. His heart is and looks filled with significance. But they tered glaring in anger. “Is that a way for proper pure and terrible and I think no other like it ex- had thrown themselves into conversation of young ladies to behave – to rush away from ists.” She felt the despair of a dead-end. In her the kind that fills the heart with affection and a visitor? Emily, your brother is beside him- room, she leaned her forehead on the window encloses the body in an avid embrace. self!” Her voice was stern, her face frowning. pane and gazed at the path which cut through “You must beg the pastor’s pardon. He left af- the trees by her house toward the home of her They were talking and laughing, when sud- fronted by your contemptuous behavior!” beloved Sue and Austin. The moon, ignoring denly Emily looked out of the window and the clouds that passed before it, illumined the saw the pastor of their church, with his pi- Emily assumed an attitude of childlike re- path which she had fashioned from the love ous air, stepping though the gate. A moment morse, though her blush of deep excitement which soared in her heart. She suddenly froze. later there was a knock at the door. Emily refused to go away. “Of course I will ask his Like an ill spirit the shadow of Sue appeared took Kate’s hand whispering, “Come quick- pardon,” she breathed. Still glaring, Sue spoke before her eyes the moment she had shouted, ly!” and controlling their laughter, they hast- no more. She turned on her heel and exited, “Emily, your father! Your father, Emily!” She ily took the stairs to the second floor. As Sue slamming the door, and Kate – as if she had asked herself, “Could it be there was relief in opened the door to the formal visitor, the two impatiently awaited Sue’s departure – hugged her voice, and triumph in her eyes?” She set girls slipped into the first bedroom at hand and Emily and joined in a warm kiss. It was then the thought aside and wrote: threw themselves prone behind the bed. It was that she promised she would keep in touch, as if the minister was about to ascend the steps and Emily waited months which stretched be- Is Bliss then, such Abyss, and they wished to be hidden from his view. yond a year. She was continually in Emily’s I must not put my foot amiss Hugging, they giggled scandalously. In the thoughts but she wearied of writing and await- For fear I spoil my shoe? meantime, the pastor – who on entering had ing a response which never arrived. Her last I’d rather suit my foot seen the two girls going upstairs – sat down letter contained a poem with the lines, “”Why Than save my boot – patiently in the living room expecting that Kate, Treason has a Voice – / But mine – dis- For yet to buy another Pair they would be coming back down to greet him pels – in tears” (Fr1429). She received news Is possible, as was proper. He spoke with Sue for some of her from Sue, who often wrote Katie. At any store – time, not daring to utter the name of Emily or Kate, who, dizzy with erotic feelings, were When memories of faces and experiences But Bliss, is sold just once. holding hands oblivious to the outer world as had faded in the past and Kate was still alive, The patent lost they released a stream of words about their questioned about her times in Amherst, she None buy it any more – lives. Kate told of her European adventures answered excitedly, as if she were reliving Say, Foot, decide the point – – the flirtations, concerts, galleries – and Em- beautiful moments: “O-O-O-O-O-Oh! – those The Lady cross, or not! ily visualized it all in detail, recalling then the blissful days at Sue’s. O-O-O-O-O-Oh! – the Verdict for Boot! (Fr371) recital she had attended in Northampton with joys of life and the memories they leave!”

May/June 2013 | 21 Taggard, continued from page 8 tively sought out community as an adult Bibliography and highlighted shared human concerns lowed by an indication of where (often for rights and dignity in her poetry. Per- (All works written or edited by Genevieve Taggard) multiple places) each was written. Al- haps it was that sense of intense personal though Taggard represented Dickinson’s struggle that led to this extraordinary in- Calling Western Union. New York and London: family dynamics in Freudian terms in- sight into the Amherst poet: “Emily felt Harper & Brothers, 1936. volving a powerful, controlling father and a quiet will to triumph, a will towards a daughter who defied him through exag- immortality. But her beginnings were Collected Poems 1918-1938. New York and Lon- gerated obedience, her own memories fo- all fragile and human and, in the world’s don: Harper & Brothers, 1938. cused on childhood humiliation as a poor phrase, queer. No poet ever came so close relation in an extended family dominated to failure; no one ever walked so near The Life and Mind of Emily Dickinson. New York by a conniving uncle who took advantage insanity and yet remained sane, or held and London: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930. of her father’s physical and emotional in so desperate a war such contending Long View. New York and London: Harper & weakness; it was her mother whose con- obsessions, vanities, aversions, shames, Brothers, 1942. trol Taggard had to defy. Whereas Dickin- or fierce desires for splendour and ap- son remained unmarried, despite romantic plause” (239). That applause, rightfully, “Poet Out of Pioneer,” These Modern Women: attachments shrouded in legend, Taggard has come to Dickinson’s own writings Autobiographical Essays from the Twenties. Ed., had two marriages, to Robert L. Wolf rather than to the biography written by a Elaine Showalter. New York: Feminist Press, and then to Kenneth Durant, and was the poet with prescient scholarly gifts and a 1979: pp. 62-73. mother of a daughter. penchant for story-telling. Ultimately, as Taggard advised her readers in the dedi- Circumference: Varieties of Metaphysical Verse 1456-1928. New York: Covici Friede Publishers, What linked Taggard to Dickinson may catory poem she placed at the front of her 1929. well have been the self-sufficiency she book, “Go to her verse, reader, / To the had been forced to cultivate internally great verse. / Here is nothing of hers. // May Days: An Anthology of Verse from Masses- since childhood, even though Taggard ac- She will elude us all.” Liberator. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1925.

Daniels, continued from Page 11 knowledge that there just might not be an cial rags of his failure that plastic surgeons ultimate answer to anything gave me the at the university’s medical center tried, stabilize – all qualities the very opposite of courage to admit more ambiguity to my over the course of several years, to mend. those my early introduction to poetry led me own poetry and to relinquish, finally, my Between surgeries, this unfortunate wan- to expect. It is one of the most profound aston- tight grip on the poems of my mother’s and dered the campus, eliciting revulsion, pity, ishments of my life that I now regard Emily my childhoods – those unambiguous nar- and admiration alike for his willingness to Dickinson as indispensable – both to my life ratives that proclaimed not just an answer, reenter life in such a horrifying form. as a human person, and as a poet. but the answer. Psychoanalysis toughened me up enough to bear the poetry of Dick- For decades, I carried this memory around Although I no longer wake in the night in inson and gave me the courage to explore like a buried germ, shying away each time the acoustic grip of her poems, Dickinson more challenging material in my work. It it strove to surface. Partly, I was repelled by occupies an ever-enlarging place in my cannot be an accident that shortly after tell- thedreadful narrative itself, but I was also imagination. I believe that it was my first- ing my analyst early in treatment that the motivated by shame. A friend of mine with hand experience of psychoanalysis and its Dickinson poems flying through my head a macabre sense of humor, an aficionado of peculiar use of language that opened me looked like birds startled by gunshot out of John Waters films and fascinated by the trial up to Dickinson’s own language acts: her a tree, a memory from my early twenties of Charles Manson, had nicknamed the un- parsimonious and oblique way of saying began calling to be written about. It was the fortunate Shotgun Face. Through several de- the hard things, of confronting psychologi- story of a fellow college student who had cades, I burned with the stuffed-down shame cal terror, and admitting the possibility of survived an attempt to kill himself with a of having participated in this terrible objecti- mental collapse. Her willingness to ac- shotgun. He was left with the wretched fa- fication of a fellow human creature, so suf-

22 | EDIS Bulletin fused with misery he took a shotgun to his Works Cited 2. “Creative Writers and Daydreaming,” in own head. It was not until I read with new Standard Edition of Complete Psychologi- Belloc, Hilaire. “Matilda Who Told Lies, and cal Works of Sigmund Freud, tr., ed.,James clarity the poems of Emily Dickinson that Was Burned to Death,” from Cautionary Tales Strachey. London: Hogarth Press, 1953-74. I found myself able to withstand the strong for Children. London: Duckworth, 1907, 1957. Rich, Adrienne.“Vesuvius at Home,” pub- feelings that arose from my engagement with lished in Parnassus: Poetry in Review, v5, #1, the subject matter. Here is the poem that re- Bollas, Christopher. Free Association. Cam- 1976. sulted from that engagement, with gratitude bridge, England: Icon Books, 2002. Yeats , William Butler. “The Symbolism of to Emily Dickinson and to psychoanalysis for Freud, Sigmund. 1. A phrase inscribed on Poetry,” 1900, in The Yeats Reader, Richard giving it to me. a wall at the Freud Museum in Vienna; and J. Finneran, editor. New York: Scribner, 1997.

Shotgun Face Tell me – Emily Dickinson demanded – Now I think we didn’t really want How do people live without thoughts – to know what he’d been thinking, or what he’d felt But how do people live without faces was the question at that moment we could not imagine anyone Clamoring in the shattered mask of cyclopic, resewn flesh but a literary character would ever reach. And that’s beneath the long, blond hair of the boy we anointed why we resented the brazen, unvictimized way our local horror. Once, he’d been one of us – strolling in which he occupied our field of vision. Enough of him barefoot to class, sharing a joint. Now, on medical leave, and his blaring image, his real politik . . . We wanted back he patrolled the campus, belligerent and unapologetic, our text-based certainties about the structures of tragedy, encased within a shroud of stitched-together scars and to move through that world undisturbed by his man-sized he had learned to inhale through, and eat around, facsimile of self-destruction, our debate about his hands and had somehow figured out how to live in spite of . . . with their long, guitar-picking nails, and how they must have clattered noisily through the box of shells. How was it possible Because we couldn’t look away, they had failed to call him back with their promise of music? we memorized his image – the missing eye, the absent infrastructures of chin and jaw. Compulsively, we rehearsed So when he wheeled about his act: what used to be his mouth – a twisted crescent on the green lawns unfurling from the college grounds, gash of open flesh, dripping like the entrance to a cave – and positioned his monstrous remnant of a head so it was pointing suggested he’d placed the weapon there, but then misfired. in our direction and strolled forward as if he were an ordinary Rocked back (we’d heard) in his father’s recliner, person, we couldn’t take it. But all we could combat him with speakers blasting, he’d have been so high were words: “Failed Suicide Walking,” our lips pursing (we theorized) he never even registered around too many syllables, our tongues taking so much time the bone-rattling clack of the shotgun’s muzzle we couldn’t help but disappear inside the structural dynamics settling itself on his lower row of teeth. Something of how he got that way. When someone in a class on Latin went wrong, we kept repeating, parsing it out, prosody, blurted SHOT GUN FACE, we hunkered down comparing our different readings. Resolute inside those three brief beats he called amphimacer. to the end? or had he changed his mind, They stalled us on the image and drove our minds away but failed to abort after his toe, wedged from narrative. Perhaps we thought, enclosed within the strictures in the trigger, had already flexed? of a language obsolete for centuries, the triad of the tragedy was dead and buried, and wouldn’t rise again Barely past childhood, to prick us from the restless sleep of middle age we knew almost nothing then, and spent our days and carry us back over the years to the boy who couldn’t doing close readings of esoteric texts, irrelevant surmount his image, to wonder – finally – how he had to almost everyone on the planet. Thus, when we ferreted managed to live, how anyone at all is able to live – down inside our undeveloped critical theories much less like him without a face – through all those years and applied them in search of a plausible interpretation, that stretch ahead completely alone with the self you ruined the proximity of a man who’d willingly destroyed and the life you failed to kill . . . his very own face, and survived to ruin our world with his horrifying image, wrenched out of orbit Reprinted by permission of Louisiana State University Press from A Walk our evolving philosophies . . . in Victoria’s Secret by Kate Daniels. Copyright © 2010 by Kate Daniels

May/June 2013 | 23 Dana, continued from page 14 extraordinarily well into my family of in- I think of the inscription remaining in Em- terest. What overwhelming challenges she ily‘s Latin book, a gift from Austin, shared the poet faces her own death. In exploring faced. Imagine! A woman in 19th century with Abby Wood: what it might have been like for Emily, my New England, knowing in the depth of her own feelings about the inevitable are com- heart that she is a poet and being true to “When I am far, far away then think of me -” ing to the surface. that? It’s hard enough now. But then! What courage! It takes my breath away! I will. I am often asked what drew me to Emily Dickinson. I think the primary thing was It wouldn’t occur to me to suggest that the Barbara Dana is an author and actor. Her this: her strong sense of her own inner truth lives of scholars are not also influenced most recent books are A Voice of Her Own: and the refusal to give it up. From Joan of in profound ways as a result of their deep Becoming Emily Dickinson and Wider Arc to the black-footed ferret who escapes connection to Dickinson. Artists, scholars, than the Sky: Essays and Meditations on from the Bronx Zoo in search of that “some- devoted readers – we are all affected as we the Healing Power of Emily Dickinson, thing more,” every protagonist I have ever travel with our beloved Emily. Poet, healer, co-edited with Cindy Mackenzie. She is written about, every cherished role I have teacher, woman, genius, sister, baker, gar- currently appearing as Emily Dickinson ever played, clings to that inner knowing in dener, friend! Emily Dickinson was indeed in William Luce’s The Belle of Amherst, in the face of immense challenges. Emily fits not just a recluse! Canada and throughout the US.

Ladin, continued from page 18 never be limited to the self-defining terms nomenological equivalent of neurosurgery to offered by social conventions, roles and “match” the “Seams” along which “Mind” fragmentation that occurs when the language hierarchies. William James cheerfully re- and “Brain” have split? Nor did we manage of self-definition fails and selves struggle and jected the idea that we have unified selves to do more than speculate about the con- fail to “state themselves”: governed by what he mockingly called “the nection between this speaker's supposed “I” pontifical neuron.” Recent studies of the and Dickinson's biographical experience of I felt a Cleaving in my Mind – brain and mind support his theory that we self-fragmentation. But as we tried to make As if my Brain had split – all contain multitudes of competing voices, sense of the gorgeously ravelling (or is it un- I tried to match it – Seam by Seam – perspectives, and priorities, that “selves” are ravelling?) final sentence, we noticed that the But could not make them fit – processes for juggling, expressing and sup- failure of its “seams” of syntax and metaphor The thought behind, I strove to join pressing these multitudes, and that our first- to “fit” enacted the very failure of coherence Unto the thought before – person pronouns assert an essential identity the speaker was describing. In representing But Sequence ravelled out of Sound none of us actually have. the speaker's failed process of self-definition, Like Balls – upon a Floor. (Fr867) Dickinson, once again, had fashioned lan- But as “I felt a Cleaving” suggests, when guage for an “I” that has no language. The participant who had been most resistant Dickinson dramatizes the self's recognition of to the idea that Dickinson represents “I” as a its failure to define itself, she, like the speaker As we pulled on our coats, I thought about self-fragmenting process threw up his hands of “I'm `Wife',” and like me, tends to see it what Dickinson had taught me: that I can in surrender when we turned to “I felt a as a crisis – a failure not only of socially pro- “state myself” by claiming and redefining Cleaving in my Mind.” vided terms of self-definition but of the very terms and syntax that aren't intended to rep- syntax of cognition. We didn't have time to resent selves like mine; that “I” can signify I knew how he felt, and so, I suspect, did explore the perspectives jostling within the “Nobody” selves that don't fit the existing Dickinson. For many post-modernist think- “I” of “I felt a Cleaving in my Mind,” or to terms, roles, and hierarchies; that “I” can ers, and for many transgender people, the clarify the relationship between the “I” that mean, and enact, a sometimes sputtering, idea that identity is, as Dickinson might feels the “Cleaving” and the “Mind” that is sometimes triumphant processes of becom- say, merely “Representative” of an ongo- cloven. How do we distinguish the self root- ing. What, I wonder, will I say the next time ing process of irresolvable fragmentation ed in “Mind” from the self rooted in “Brain” I realize I've introduced myself to a student seems exciting, liberating, a “Get Out of from the self that stands outside “Mind” and who doesn't know what I mean when I say, Jail Free” card that guarantees that we will “Brain” and unsuccessfully attempts the phe- “I'm Joy”?

24 | EDIS Bulletin New Publications

By Barbara Kelly, Book Review Editor

Burak, Kathryn trust, new-found hope, strength, and re- nahue Eberwein, Paul Ferlazzo, Clark Emily’s Dress and Other Missing siliency. Not to be missed are Burak’s Griffith, Thomas H. Johnson, Patrick J. Things. New York: Roaring Book Press, unique metaphors and sense of humor. Keane, Joan Kirby, Bettina L. Knapp, 2012. 234 pp. Cloth, ISBN 1-59643- This book should appeal to young adults Wendy Martin, David Porter, and Rob- 736-4, $17.99. and to those who appreciate Dickinson’s ert Weisbuch. The final section, “Con- impact on the contemporary creative temporary Perspectives on Death and In Burak’s debut novel, nominated for imagination. Dying,” presents excerpts from modern the 2013 Edgar Award in Young Adult psychological studies by Maurice Abit- Mystery, Claire Salter is a confused and bol, Darlene F. Cross, Russell Friedman, troubled teenager trying to understand John W. James, and Randy Pausch. The her mother’s recent suicide and her best Johnson, Claudia Durst book includes an introduction, chronol- friend Richy’s mysterious disappear- Death and Dying in the Poetry of Emily ogy, suggestions for further discussion ance. Claire and her professor father Dickinson. and reading, a bibliography, and an in- move to Amherst for a fresh start. Added Farmington Hills, MI: Gale/Greenhav- dex. With only two exceptions, the ex- to her personal trauma is the challenge en Press, 2012. 171 pp. Paper, ISBN cerpts that focus on Dickinson (17-131) of entering a new school in her senior 0-7377-6376-8, $28.45. draw from twentieth-century scholar- year. Claire consoles herself reading her ship, but in exposing readers to these mother’s poetry books, “patting them This fifteenth volume in Gale’s Social books, the well presented, accessible as if they were small pets,” and writ- Issues in Literature series is a concise excerpts might motivate readers to look ing poetry herself. In school her writing anthology that gathers excerpts from further for more recent publications. attracts the attention of Tate, a student the works of thirteen Dickinson schol- teacher, who calls the writing “dark.” ars and five other scholars interested Claire visits the Dickinson Homestead in contemporary issues of death. The alone at night, entering through a win- works span 55 years from 1955 to 2010. Legault, Paul. dow left ajar. She explains, “I go there The excerpts, most running from seven The Emily Dickinson Reader: An Eng- because . . . I feel close to my mom. to ten pages, are easily read, each be- lish-to-English Translation of Emily Like she’s there, too.” One night Claire ginning with an introductory abstract. Dickinson’s Complete Poems. tries on Dickinson’s dress, but Tate has The anthology, illustrated with eleven San Francisco: McSweeney’s Books, followed her, accidentally setting off black and white photographs, is divided 2012. 247 pp. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth, an alarm that forces their quick escape. into three sections: “death in Dickin- ISBN 1-936365-98-2, $17.00. Now partners in crime, Claire and Tate son’s life; death in her poetry; and con- must find a way to return the dress, temporary issues involving death.” The McSweeney’s Books deserves credit for while at the same time, Claire pursues first section, “Background on Emily presenting Legault’s idiosyncratic work the mystery of Richy’s disappearance. Dickinson,” contains excerpts from the in an attractive, cloth-covered book em- This complex and fast-moving adven- biographical works of John Cody, Alfred bossed with Mabel Loomis Todd’s draw- ture will engage readers but also pro- Habegger, and Ruth Miller. The second ing of Indian Pipes, also providing art- vides the author with a way to gracefully section, “Death and Dying in Emily ful end papers, gold- edged pages, and and sensitively explore loss and sadness, Dickinson’s Poetry,” features excerpts a sewn-in ribbon bookmark; however, unresolved guilt and grief, friendship, from the literary criticism of Jane Do- reaching up from the weeds and through

The Bulletin welcomes notices of all Dickinson-related books, including those published outside the U.S. Send information to Barbara Kelly, 444 Washington Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301, U.S.A. Email: [email protected]

May/June 2013 | 25 New Publications

the Indian Pipes, a skeletal arm and meditation features one of Dickinson’s romp about a memo-writing Dean, a bu- hand signals that this is no ordinary Em- less familiar poems (Fr 166, 197, 261, reaucratic English Department, and the ily Dickinson Reader. This comic jab 270, 273, 346, 436, 454, 559, 623, 652, neurotic lives of four graduate students at Dickinson’s “flowers of life” is but 670, 698, 743, 996, 1012, 1082, 1094, and their falsely humble, egocentric the first taste of Legault’s brash humor. 1117, 1344, 1556, 1573A, 1620, 1641, professor whose latest paper is entitled He begins earnestly, “Emily Dickinson and 1671), carefully chosen and closely “The Agency of Transgender Normative wrote in a language all her own, thus the read to reinforce LeMay’s lucid, often Transfixed or Transmitted: the Use of need for this English version of what persuasive, discussions of Dickinson’s Vowels in the Poems of Emily Dickin- she meant.” Having read and condensed beliefs about conversion, scripture, son.” Into this manic, insular world steps each of Dickinson’s 1,789 poems into doubt, proof, hymn, intercession, Jesus, Bob Forger, claiming to have a newly- predominately one-sentence summaries, incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, si- found poem written by Emily Dickin- Legault explains his project as an “at- lence, ecstasy, humor, being grasped by son. This turn of plot will resonate for tempt to rewrite her poems “(with their God, and revelation. Many other Dick- Dickinson aficionados who remember foreign beauty intact) in ‘Standard Eng- inson poems and letters are referenced the newly-discovered Dickinson poem lish.’” Some readers will dispute this throughout the meditations. Although auctioned at Southeby’s in 1997, later claim. His cheeky quips and contem- Dickinson insisted that she could not revealed to be a forgery. The operetta, porary comments will offend, even rile, pray, LeMay has a broad understand- however, has a different and surpris- some Dickinson devotees, though Twit- ing of what constitutes prayer. She says, ingly antic climax in store for readers ter users may appreciate Legault’s con- Dickinson “met the world, its grief and of Oh No, Not Emily! McLaughlin cor- cision: “Surgeons must be very careful” joy, with song: ‘The first Day’s Night rectly says that the operetta will appeal (Fr 156); “Hope is kind of like birds, / In had come – / And grateful that a thing / to those who “have spent time in an that I don’t have any” (Fr 314); “There’s So terrible – had been endured – / I told English department, know what a para- a little zombie inside of each and every my Soul to sing – ’ (Fr 423). Her song digm is, exist in large bureaucracies, are one of us” (Fr 1455). Zombies reappear rises first from trouble and then from in grad school and need to laugh about throughout the book. Although an index gratitude. . . . The question of why she it, are thinking of going to grad school of first lines to Dickinson’s poems is sang fades before the sheer, gratuitous and want to know what it is really like, included, Legault’s summaries are best gift that she sang, as well as the over- [or] are paying for grad school and are used with Franklin’s edition of Dick- whelming beauty of what she sang.” To curious about what they are spending all inson’s original poems. Some readers be read and reread one essay at a time, that money for.” Featuring songs such may find Legault’s approach amusing this book is worth a permanent place on as the “Yellow Rose of Emily,” Oh No, and fun, but the redeeming value of his the bookshelf of any reader seeking spir- Not Emily debuted on stage in 2003, in translations lies in their potential for re- itual engagement regardless of religious Burbank, California, and is now avail- turning readers to Dickinson’s original or secular affiliations. Included are an able in paperback or Kindle editions, poems. introduction and 35 pages of notes. and on CD.

LeMay, Kristin McLaughlin, Dan Ruedele, Rodney i told my soul to sing: finding God with Oh No, Not Emily! An Operetta of Aca- Echoes of Emily. Emily Dickinson. demia, Fraud and Emily Dickinson. Seattle: Create Space Independent Pub- Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, www. Seattle: Create Space Independent lishing, 2012. 225 pp. Paper, ISBN paracletepress.com, 2012. 291 pp. Pa- Publishing, 2012. 83 pp. Paper, ISBN 1-4700-7898-0, $10.00. per, ISBN 1-61261-163-1, $17.99. 1-4681-0477-6, $9.99. The echoes in Ruedele’s title refer to Le May offers 25 cogent, openhearted In the lively spirit of Gilbert and Sul- the poems he writes in response to his meditations on belief, prayer, mortal- livan, McLaughlin has written a light, readings of 87 Dickinson poems printed ity, immortality, and beauty, occasion- amusing, satirically subversive operetta, in full from the Franklin edition. Rue- ally sharing her personal spiritual jour- a combination of dialogue and 20 songs, dele writes neither “as a scholar” nor as ney while exploring Emily Dickinson’s all making good-natured fun of aca- “a poet by inclination,” but he admires struggle between doubt and faith. Each demia. The operetta is a silly, oh-so-true Dickinson’s work and hopes that his

26 | EDIS Bulletin New Publications

“blunt poetry will provide easier appre- Blanchard, Donald, MD. “Emily Dick- Science Research Network Feb, 3, 2012. ciation” of Dickinson’s “complicated inson’s Ophthalmic Consultation with http://ssrn.com/abstract=1999154. and abstruse” originals. His novel takes Henry Willard Williams, MD.” Archives the form of an extended conversation of Ophthalmology, 130.12 (2012): 1591- Kohler, Michelle. “The Apparatus of the between Reggie Reitter, a retired engi- 1595. Dark: Emily Dickinson and the Episte- neer in his late sixties with a curmud- mology of Metaphor.” Nineteenth-Cen- geonly outlook on life and an interest Bollobás, Enikő. “Troping the Un- tury Literature, 67.1 (June 2012): 58-86. in philosophy and poetry, and 50-year- thought: Catachresis in Emily Dickin- old Harriet Bensen, who cares for her son’s Poetry.” Emily Dickinson Journal Miller, Cristanne. “Dickinson and the ailing father and teaches high school 21.1 (2012): 25-56. Ballad.” Genre 45.1 (2012): 29-55. English, comparing herself to a football linebacker when dealing with her unruly Eberwein, Jane Donahue. “‘Danger- Mossberg, Barbara. “Through the Trans- students. In Ruedele’s novel, Reggie and ous fruit of the tree of knowledge’: atlantic Lens of ‘my George Eliot’ and Harriet, two “Unitarian-type heathens,” Mary Ann Evans, Emily Dickinson, and Percy Bysshe Shelley: Emily Dickin- agree to meet once a week after choir Strauss’s Das Leben Jesu.” Emily Dick- son’s Expatriate Soul in Postcards from practice to discuss Reggie’s poems writ- inson Journal 21.2 (2012): 1-19. the Edge.” Emily Dickinson Journal ten in response to reading Dickinson’s 21.2 (2012): 59-79. poetry. Harriet offers to be Reggie’s Eberwein, Jane Donahue. “Mending a reader and frank critic. He describes her Tattered Faith: Devotions with Dick- O’Malley, Maria. “Citizen Dickinson: as “Harriet the hulk, hard on the eyes, yet inson.” Christianity & Literature 61.3 The Intimacies of Print.” Women’s Stud- kindred in spirit, flush with poetic sensi- (Spring 2012): 501-503. ies, 41.7 (2012): 829-847. tivity” and himself as sarcastic, wearing “untucked shirts, beard and long hair.” Freeman, Margaret H. “George Eliot Osborne, Gillian. “Dickinson’s Lyric Their conversations echo the format of and Emily Dickinson: Poets of Play and Materialism.” Emily Dickinson Journal the 1981 film, My Dinner with Andre, Possibility.” Emily Dickinson Journal 21.1 (2012): 57-78. an extended conversation between two 21.2 (2012): 37-58. old friends about the nature of art and Stuart, Maria. “Strange English: Emily life. Harriet admires and praises Reg- Fretwell, Erica. “Emily Dickinson in Dickinson and Northern Irish Poetry.” Em- gie’s project but is not always keen on Domingo.” J19: The Journal of 19th- ily Dickinson Journal 21.1 (2012): 79-97. his poems. Reading them, however, does Century Americanists 1.1 (Spring 2013): encourage readers to return to the origi- 71 - 96. Van Zanten, Susan. “‘Bridges Often nals, included within the text, and ap- Go’: Emily Dickinson’s Bridge Poems.” preciate their beauty. Heginbotham, Eleanor Elson. “‘What do New England Quarterly 85.3 (Septem- I think of glory -’: Dickinson’s Eliot and ber 2012): 526-540. Middlemarch.’” Emily Dickinson Jour- nal 21.2 (2012): 20-36. Wang, Baihua. “Emily Dickinson’s Re- ception in China: A Brief Overview, Hickok, Benjamin B. “I Call on Mme. Part I.” Emily Dickinson Journal 21.1 Journal Articles Bianchi.” Introduction and notes by Pe- (2012): 110-116. ter Schmitt. Emily Dickinson Journal Articles published in the Emily Dickin- 21.2 (2012): 95-105. Wargacki, John P. “Emily Dickinson’s son Journal are available online at Proj- Midrash of Jacob and the Angel: Con- ect Muse. Juhasz, Suzanne. “A Life with Emily struction of a “Counter Typology.’” Sho- Dickinson: Surprise and Memory.” Em- far: A Journal of Jewish Studies, 30.3 Anikeeva, Tatiana. “‘To Fill a Gap . . .’: ily Dickinson Journal 21.2 (2012): 80- (Spring 2012): 62-83. The Effect of the Internet on the Recep- 94. tion of Russian Translations of Emily Zapedowska, Magdalena. “Dickinson’s Dickinson’s Poetry.” Emily Dickinson Kang, Yanbin. “Emily Dickinson in the Delight.” Emily Dickinson Journal 21.1 Journal 21.1 (2012): 98-109. Context of ‘Boudoir Lament.’” Social (2012): 1-24.

May/June 2013 | 27 New Publications

Letter to the World: Randi Laubek Sings Emily Dickinson

By Niels Kjaer

Letter to the World. Sony Music, 2012. CD and book of accompanying text. Sony 88725438962. UPC/EAN: 0887254389620.

rom decade to decade Emily Dick- Album, and Randi Laubek herself Finson enjoys new waves of interest was named Best Female Artist and in Scandinavia. The first wave of atten- Best Songwriter. Her subsequent al- tion was in the 50’s and 60’s, the second bums have all resided at (or near) the was in the 80’s and 90’s, and right now top of the Danish album charts. Her a third and even stronger wave is roll- new Emily Dickinson album, Letter ing over Scandinavia. It includes both to the World, immediately entered new translations of Dickinson’s poems the Danish Top 20 Album Chart. and new adaptations of her poetry in art, music and drama (see my reviews in The The thirteen Dickinson poems EDIS Bulletin 23/1 and 24/1). Laubek has put into music are Frank- lin #s 94, 178, 278, 338, 349, 368, In June 2012 the Danish singer-song- 387, 479, 519, 550, 557, 656 and writer Randi Laubek released a new 905. Unfortunately Randi Laubek album with her own musical interpreta- has chosen to use the Dickinson tions of thirteen Emily Dickinson po- texts from The Complete Poems of ems. In Scandinavia, Randi Laubek is Emily Dickinson (first published in a popular music celebrity, because of 1924) as her lyrics. The reason is Ekdahl has also composed an “Interval” her distinctive voice. Her debut album that Laubek many years ago received between the first six and the last seven Ducks and Drakes (EMI, 1997) was a copy of this book from her primary Dickinson songs. awarded the Danish Grammy (now the school teacher, and consequently knows Danish Music Award) in 1998 for Best these early versions of Dickinson’s po- This album will allow a wider Scandina- ems by heart. Even so, it would have vian audience to become familiar with been much preferable if Laubek had Dickinson’s poetry, and it is to be hoped chosen to sing the Franklin versions of that many people after having listened to Emily Dickinson’s poems. That said, Laubek’s songs will start reading Dick- Randi Laubek’s Letter to the World is inson’s own poems. a great album. Laubek’s unique jazzy voice is excellent for interpreting both Dickinson’s tender and her passionate feelings, and her tunes complement the Niels Kjaer serves as a minister in the poems without dominating them. Danish Lutheran Church. He is also a poet. Since 1976 he has published 8 col- On Letter to the World Randi Laubek is lections of his own poetry plus Danish accompanied by the classical woodwind translations of selections of Emily Dick- quintet Royal Danish Winds. Laubek inson’s and Gerard Manley Hopkins’ sings, and she and Gustaf Ljunggren poems. He has been a member of EDIS play guitars on most of the tracks, since the start in 1988. He contributed while all Laubek’s tunes are arranged articles and reviews to Dickinson Stud- Randi Laubek in a lyrical moment for Royal Danish Winds by the Swed- ies in the 1980s and he has continued to Photo Credit: Katrine Rohrberg ish composer and arranger Per Ekdahl. write regularly for the Bulletin.

28 | EDIS Bulletin Members’ News

George Gleason, Lawyer, Lately Dickinsonian, Goes “Out Upon Circumference”

By Eleanor Heginbotham

hen he died suddenly following a that many interpreted the term as Dick- Wprocedure to help a heart condi- inson’s reference to Italy, he concluded tion, in the blossomy burst of a Mary- that, in combination with other poems, land Spring, April 6, George Gleason the phrase was a metaphor for “the po- was building a doll house to the scale et’s contentment in the isolation of her of the Homestead. It was not for one family home . . . where she exercised of his many grandchildren but to help ‘unprecedented imaginative freedom.’” the Dickinson Museum raise funds dur- Along with his wife, children, grand- ing the 200th anniversary of the build- children, and fellow Dickinsonians, ing. It was but one way he entered en- George Gleason leaves his colleagues ergetically into the work of EDIS and in many volunteer activities, most es- the Museum. Described by his four pecially his work at Montgomery Hos- children as a dynamic model for pur- pice, Casey House in Rockville, Mary- suing excellence, growth and joy, he land, toward which the family directed had come to Dickinson after practicing any gifts in his honor. law in governmental areas of environ- mental protection, then in consulting for private business, and, in retirement, It might be lonelier not only volunteering but training oth- Without the Loneliness – er volunteers in Hospice care. One of I’m so accustomed to my Fate – his self-appointed tasks at the Hospice Perhaps the Other – Peace – would have pleased Emily Dickinson: he kept the bird feeders full. Would interrupt the Dark – George Gleason at the EDIS Annual Meeting in Re- And crowd the little Room – A lifelong reader of poetry – his children gina, Saskatchewan in 2009. Too scant – by Cubits – to contain spoke of the well-marked Frost collec- Photo Credit, Eleanor Heginbotham The Sacrament – of Him – tion he left behind – Gleason came to the serious study of Dickinson when a Dickinson Journal (XVIII.2, 2009). He I am not used to Hope – particular poem in the gift from his wife shared a third article, one comparing art- It might intrude opon – Diane piqued his curiosity. As he was ist Georgia O’Keefe and Dickinson, with It’s sweet parade – blaspheme the an exact and exacting lawyer and hobby an Amherst-area Dickinson group, and place – carpenter (among much else), he was a he attended annual meetings and confer- Ordained to Suffering – close and careful reader. He brought the ences in Amherst, Regina, and Oxford. question, “what did Dickinson mean by a He also took an active and generous in- It might be easier ‘Blue Peninsula’ in ‘It might be lonelier’ terest in the Museum. To fail – with Land in Sight – (Fr535)” to a class (on Dickinson’s birth- Than gain – my Blue Peninsula – day) in 2007. When the “teacher” (this Gregarious as he seemed and as active To perish – of Delight – writer) could not answer, he pursued the as his family described him to be, per- Fr535 idea on his own, combing the other po- haps a hint of his turn to Dickinson in his ems and letters and critical studies until later years lies in the “Blue Peninsula” he had gathered information and thoughts article in which he said that the early George Gleason’s article for the Spring to share in an article in the May/June loss of his parents enabled him to “re- 2009 issue of the Bulletin, entitled “My 2009 EDIS Bulletin. He followed that es- late to the sense of isolation Dickinson’s Blue Peninsula,” reflected upon his favor- say with “Is It Really Emily” in the Emily speaker was suffering.” Having learned ite Dickinson poem.

May/June 2013 | 29 Members’ News

Harold Bond, 1931-2013 By Georgiana Strickland arly last spring I received in my email oral approach was not a new idea, but Harold no surprise to learn that he was also an award- Ebox a charming article for the Bulletin Bond’s saga of his own route to appreciating winning actor, director, and playwright with describing one Dickinson enthusiast’s story Dickinson’s poetry – dashes, “bumpy road,” the Quannapowitt Players in Reading during of discovering her poetry and the impor- and all – struck me as something many Dick- those same years. Among his writings was a tance of reading it aloud. The value of an insonians could relate to. He suggested that one-act play about Thomas Wentworth Hig- Thomas Wentworth Higginson might have ginson’s relationship with Emily Dickinson. better appreciated her “spasmodic” verse if Also a music lover and active in many book he had read it aloud. The article appeared in clubs and civic organizations, Harold collect- the Spring 2012 issue. I had looked forward ed first editions, and he and his wife, Theresa, to meeting Harold at one of the EDIS gather- ran an on-line business in books and ephem- ings. He obviously had more to tell, much to era. contribute. I’m sorry now to report that Har- old died at his home in Reading, Massachu- The Bond family has suggested that memori- setts, on April 22. al contributions may be made to EDIS. They should be sent to Jim Fraser at 159 Prospect Harold was a teacher of English, specializing St., Unit 7, Acton, MA 01720. in Shakespeare and poetry, and also a track and field coach, at Reading High School from We extend sympathy to Harold’s wife and 1956 until his retirement in 1994. Given his children and other members of the Bond fam- enthusiasm for reading literature aloud, it’s ily.

EDIS Scholar in Amherst and Graduate Student Fellowship, 2014

he Emily Dickinson International Soci- duction (written by the applicant), a two- doctoral programs and engaged in the writ- Tety (EDIS) invites applications for the page project proposal including preliminary ing of dissertations or other major projects 2014 Scholar in Amherst Program. We wish budget and brief bibliography, by January directed toward publication. Applicants to support exciting new research on Dick- 15, 2014, to Paul Crumbley at paul.crum- should be aware that a dissertation project inson. The award of $2,000 may be used [email protected]. Letters of recommendation need not be focused solely on Dickinson; for expenses related to that research such are not accepted as part of the application however, a substantial part of the work as travel, accommodations, a rental car, or packet. Applications will be acknowledged should significantly engage Dickinson’s reproduction fees. Upon completion of their upon receipt and applicants notified of final work. To apply, please send a cv, a project research, recipients will write a letter to the decisions by March 1. For more informa- description, the names and contact informa- EDIS Board outlining what they achieved tion, see www.emilydickinsoninternational- tion of two references, and a dissertation with EDIS support, and we appreciate ac- society.org prospectus or other relevant writing sample knowledgment in any resulting publications. of no more than 25 pages to Paul Crumb- We encourage recipients to consider a visit The EDIS announces a fellowship award of ley at [email protected]. Applica- to Amherst, but residency is not a require- $1,000 in support of graduate student schol- tions are due by January 15, 2014. Letters of ment. Preference will be given to persons arship on Emily Dickinson. The award may recommendation are not accepted as part of with completed PhDs who are in the early be used to fund travel to collections or con- the application packet. Applications will be stages of their careers. ferences, to support book purchases, or for acknowledged upon receipt and applicants other research expenses (such as reproduc- notified of final decisions by March 1. For To apply for the 2014 Scholar in Amherst tion costs) necessary to the project. Prefer- more information, see www.emilydickin- Award, please submit a cv, a letter of intro- ence will be given to applicants enrolled in soninternationalsociety.org

30 | EDIS Bulletin Members’ News

Eleanor Heginbotham New EDIS Board Member-At-Large

leanor Elson Heginbotham, author of Reading the Fas- the years, an absorbed reader of the Bulletin and an always Ecicles of Emily Dickinson (2002) and many articles, in- humbled reader of the flagship Journal, I would be honored cluding one this Fall in the Emily Dickinson Journal on Dick- to serve on its Board again, this time as Member-at-Large. For inson’s George Eliot, is at work this year with Paul Crumbley, all the miles (literally and figuratively) the Society has come, co-editor, of a collection of essays, Dickinson’s Fascicles: A I see that there are miles to go. As I have taught and spoken Spectrum of Possibilities (for Ohio State UP). Although she about Dickinson around the world, I am aware of the thousands is Professor Emerita from Concordia University Saint Paul, beyond our several-hundred members who delight in and know she continues to teach in the DC area. She has taught in Li- a great deal about Emily Dickinson. A primarily goal would be beria, Vietnam, Indonesia, and, as a Fulbright Senior Scholar, to invite as many of such Dickinson readers as we could reach in Hong Kong. Between these exotic sites and before her ten with invitations to join us and then to help plan local events that years in St. Paul, she taught for 18 years at Stone Ridge, an would keep them engaged in our goals between the meetings academy in the Maryland suburbs where early versions of a and conferences which, in turn, we might plan with more atten- local EDIS chapter met. In Saint Paul tion to the potential diversity they would she co-directed “To Make a Prairie,” the surely bring to us. With greater numbers 2000 Annual Meeting. There she also di- we might then consider ways to expand rected international conferences on Lau- our already generous support for young ra Ingalls Wilder and F. Scott Fitzgerald. scholars and for the historic homes and li- She received four NEH fellowships for braries in Amherst. Also, we could share summer study and three teaching awards. with them the inspiration I have gained For her Member-at-Large statement she from our veteran, distinguished founding shared her continuing vision for EDIS: members, from the talented, productive newer scholars – and from the enthusias- As an EDIS member since its first year, a tic readers who bring other professional participant in each of its conferences and skills (lawyers, scientists, therapists) to all but two of its annual meetings through Eleanor Heginbotham with Beefeaters our gatherings.

EDIS Fellowships Support Rising Scholars he EDIS Awards Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 Scholar in Amherst Award and the Graduate Student TFellowship. The Graduate Student Fellowship goes to Judith Scholes, who is currently completing her PhD at the University of Vancouver, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Through her dissertation, “Emily Dickinson and the Ethos of Nineteenth-Century American Women’s Poetry,” Scholes examines the ways material aspects of editing, publishing, and circulating poetry rhetorically shape its ethos and help us better understand Dickinson’s response to the question of publication. Scholes will use the fellowship to travel to Amherst before at- tending the international conference in August.

The Scholar in Amherst Award goes to Anne Mondro in support of her proposed series of digital prints inspired by Dickinson poems. Mondro completed her M.F.A. at Kent State University in 2002 and immediately moved from there to the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where she currently holds the rank of associate professor. Professor Mondro has mounted eight solo exhibits since 2008 at galleries and universities across this country and in São Paulo, Brazil. For her Dickinson project, she will base each work on a single Dickinson poem that she will combine with photographs of found and fabricated objects. She plans to visit Amherst in order to gather materials for her series.

May/June 2013 | 31 Members’ News – Chapter Groups

A Conversation with the Amherst Chapter By Lois Kackley

Since May 2009, it has been my privilege to facilitate two Emily Dickinson “poetry conversations” each month in Amherst for the Emily Dickinson International Society. Recently, in an effort to get a cross-section of group members based on personality and background, I asked six group members if they would answer a few questions about their experience with these discussions. My aim is to encourage (or, discourage – if that is where their answers lead) EDIS members elsewhere who are thinking about starting a local chapter.

I have included mention of their backgrounds for insight into the diverse and engaging people that they are. Three live in Amherst. The others live in surrounding towns: Lois Barber – Founder/Director of Earth Action, a global action network of over 2,000 environment, peace and human rights organizations Greg Mattingly – Retired from Training/Course Development in the high-tech sector; a guide at the Emily Dickinson Museum Jeff Morgan – Emily Dickinson Museum Guide Robert Raymond – Criminal Defense Attorney Adreanna Scussel – Librarian, Public Library (Connecticut) Larry Williams – Engineer and PhD candidate, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

The interviews, like all the conversations of the Thursday and Friday groups, took place in the Amherst Room of the Jomes Library in Amherst.

Lois Kackley When or how did you become interested in Emily Dickinson’ s poetry?

Lois Barber I visited her house and garden several times, but when I tried to read her poems by myself . . . they were “out of reach.” I thought that maybe I just wasn't smart enough. Yet, I knew that so many people love her poetry and recognize her genius. Then, about five years ago, I attended a (Dickinson Museum sponsored) work- shop. People had varying ideas about words and lines, but slowly, with each person building upon the ideas of others, the poem was “unwrapped.” By the third poem, I was an active participant. Not long after, I started to participate in the EDIS Poetry Conversations that are held monthly at the Jones Library (Amherst public library).

Greg Mattingly The Thursday Group: Left to right, Victoria Dickson, artist; Robert Raymond, attorney; Greg At the suggestion of my wife, in the mid- Mattingly, Museum Guide; Eileen Kennedy, professor; Lois Kackley, facilitator.

32 | EDIS Bulletin Members’ News – Chapter Groups

1980s. “I taste a liquor never brewed” ambiguity, universality, feeling. More Lois Barber was the first Dickinson poem that I met, and more, I'm impressed with her play- I appreciate that there is a regular time and it made me want to find more. Grad- fulness; in many poems you can see that and place to meet each month in a lovely ually, I was enthralled. she was having a lot of fun. Emily rocks. room in our conveniently located pub- lic library. We begin and end on time, Adreanna Scussel Lois Barber and the discussions are well organized I used to take trips from time to time to I respond to her questioning attitude about and well facilitated. Interesting people Amherst to explore the shops downtown. the whole world including people, animals, always show up. We have Dickinson I discovered there was going to be a talk plants, clouds, life, death, and God. When I scholars, and occasional readers who at the museum, and since I’m passionate read her poems, I often feel like I am being just drop by. Everyone is encouraged about anything literary, I attended the held by a toe, and dipped into her world. to participate. I travel a lot and attend program and from then on attended talks And a quietly dazzling world it is. when I can, but always feel welcomed. and programs at the museum including monthly discussions of the poetry with Robert (blending his own words with the I like the simple format: a few poems speakers. From then on, I became a reg- poet’s:) have been chosen in advance, someone ular and added the EDIS conversations “Can we keep track of the attractive?” reads one aloud, we discuss it, and then as I became aware of the meetings. To this benign creator ascribe no less the clue that same person reads it again. In the sec- "Like butterflies off banks of noon…leap ond reading, you can hear the “discover- Robert Raymond plashless" ies” we have made during our discussion Four or five years ago. Reading Helen As you swim! about the language and the meaning of Vendler's commentaries pulled me in. each poem. We may focus on the tiniest Lois Kackley details, and/or get the farthest away and Lois Kackley What is it about EDIS Poetry Conversa- see the big picture that Dickinson may What is it about Dickinson poems that tions that you like most? Least? well have been seeing herself. We try to you find most attractive? stick to the words she wrote, and not get Adreanna caught in psychological or sociological Larry I like the Poetry Conversations as they analysis. I always learn from the others Imagery, the musical use of words, her are – it's evolved now with purposeful in the group. People respectfully disagree ignoring of convention and creation of selections, such as an early poem with a with or question the opinions of others in a brilliant new style, doses of eroticism, couple of later poems and occasionally the spirit of community exploration. Our and emotional power. the addition of a letter. discussions are rooted in the belief that there are many ways to read and under- Greg Jeff stand these poems. Only Ms. Dickinson She uses words to say what words them- The EDIS conversations follow the for- is the real expert. selves can't say alone. (She tells us that mat that seems to me essential for en- "Shadows hold their breath!” Really?) joying and appreciating ED, i.e. open What's most exciting is the way each She observes life unflinchingly, minutely, discussion rather than set lecture. A poem is “unwrapped” during our 20 to profoundly – what Col. Higginson must dozen people around a table will dis- 30 minute discussion. It is a good ex- have been referring to as "such flashes as cover endless facets in what may seem ample of learning by doing together. come to you." These observations seem like her simplest poems. It's a common What was opaque, becomes visible, to appear in her poems as nonchalantly as experience of participants to begin a dis- sometimes even sparklingly clear. There one might observe the weather. cussion with little or no idea of what to are little triumphs of discoveries, or ac- say about a given poem, and then bit by ceptance of mysteries. The energy and “I could not have defined the change – bit we open up the poem, and in the end excitement of the group is tangible, and Conversion of the Mind” (Fr627) we're awed by the riches uncovered. there is often a lot of laughter.

Jeff The EDIS participants are mostly ama- Robert Her poetry is wonderfully concise; phil- teurs ("lovers"), not scholars, and this Only most. One thought that I have had osophically deep; full of original imag- encourages all to participate unabashed- recently is that I would enjoy talking ery, interesting English usage, surprise, ly, with astonishingly productive results. about why some poems we review are

May/June 2013 | 33 Members’ News – Chapter Groups

two on a ten point scale and others ten. oak table with plenty of leg room be- of any notes that I may have taken. I try What is the difference? neath? A crackling fire would be nice, in to see the poem in new ways. the winter months, and a lavatory a few Larry steps away would complete the picture. Another affect has been to inquire more Most enjoy the dissections and views (I will not push for wine and cheese.) deeply into the roots and origins of the offered by people with a broad literary words that the poet chooses, even famil- background, and the sharing of published Lois Kackley iar words. This was largely inspired by comments of scholars that enlighten. How has your participation in the Conver- participants in Poetry Conversation with sations affected your reading of Dickinson? a strong focus on etymology. Less enjoyed are the letters unless they have a bearing on a significant poem, Adreanna Larry but it is not a problem. Rereading the poem with the group helps Improved my understanding, partly in understanding. With (Dickinson), one due to looking up published analysis as Greg can revisit again and there's more depths preparation. It was often a struggle reading the poems to plumb. I guess I'm lazy, because I rely in isolation, as I had for so many years. I on the group discussion to understand Jeff and appreciate the poetry. The discussions impress me over and over with Emily Dickinson's subtlety, her Lois Barber substance, her perception of significance Being in the Poetry Con- in little things, her expressive power – versation group has made and in the endless variety of responses Dickinson's poems more that she stimulates from readers. accessible, more alive, brighter, deeper, mysteri- Robert ous, intriguing, and closer Being part of Poetry Conversations has to my heart. reinforced my reading of the poems, both reading and memorizing. Overall, I feel more con- nected to Emily Dick- In 2014, we will celebrate five years of inson: the person, the Poetry Conversations. Until then I hope woman, the Amherst resi- to build on the academic community’s en- The Jones Library, in Amherst dent, the New Englander thusiasm for these groups. Early in 2013, alive during our nation's the English chair at the University of joined EDIS in 2008. Like other partici- Civil War, the questioner, the observer, Massachusetts, Bill Moebius, referred to pants in the Poetry Conversations, I have the artist, and the person who wanted to us a second (in two years) visiting schol- been wonderfully surprised by the clar- share her world with others, including ar from Paris, France. Sophie Mayer is ity, the deepened appreciation for, and me, through her poems. a refreshing visitor and delightful con- new insights into the poems that emerge tributor to our conversations. whenever we convene. The simple act of I still struggle with reading Dickinson's sharing this passion with kindred spirits poems on my own. I want to ask ques- is probably the greatest reward. tions of others on the spot and hear their Lois Kackley first read Dickinson for a take on the words and ideas on the page. literature class at Salem College (NC) in We do not argue. We exchange views, 1973. “That evening,” as she describes it, and we ask questions. We do not try to Greg “after getting the children tucked into bed, impose our views on the group, or estab- In most cases, it's been on a poem-by- I sat before a fireplace in a club chair and lish our own readings as final. poem basis. After our meetings, I like read the poems by Dickinson that were in What do I like least? How about well- to return to the poems that we discussed the assigned textbook. I laughed and cried padded and plushly upholstered Queen and reconsider them in the light of what and hugged myself.” She began reading Anne chairs to sit in, and a hand-hewn other participants have said, and in light Dickinson with friends the very next day.

34 | EDIS Bulletin Members’ News – Chapter Groups

Emily Dickinson and the East By Nelly Lambert

n October 19th, 2012, a small group Derived from her work on Emily Dickinson’s Dickinson or to the Evergreens or, later, to Ogathered in the conference room at the care of plants and flowers, Farr spoke about Mabel Loomis Todd. Freer Museum to relaunch a Washington, DC the poet’s nurturing of semi-exotic “eastern” chapter of the Emily Dickinson Society. We plants, the Star Jasmine flower in particular. Farr’s talk flowed into an active question-and- introduced ourselves, and shared our general To keep her jasmine alive, Farr explained, answer session, during which she listed use- interests in as well as our more immediate con- Dickinson would stay up all night in the win- ful ways of (and reasons for) employing bio- nections to the event’s theme, “Emily Dickin- ter so that the fire warming her conservatory graphical research in Dickinson studies. Her son and the East.” The theme was a match for did not go out. Dickinson was not snobbish prepared lecture had seamlessly interwoven the museum venue, which specializes in Asian about her taste in plants: she tended semi-ex- historical research, art history, botany, biog- art, and the venue was a perfect match for the otic flowers like the jasmine as well as com- raphy, and poetic analysis, and it served as a theme. moner, local flowers like the daffodil. We wonderful model for scholars just starting out, paused on the image of eastern and western many of whom were present at the event. We To inaugurate our newly reformed chapter, plants cared for side by side in Dickinson’s concluded our two-hour gathering by reading Eleanor Heginbotham and Judith Farr had conservatory, as it illustrated something spe- a small selection of Dickinson poems contain- helped spread the word about this first event, cial to Dickinson in her fascinations with the ing references to “the East” (broadly defined). and Judith Farr had agreed to speak about her East. The East was not only an exotic other Then, we tasted baked goods inspired by Dick- work on the general topic, “Dickinson and for her; it was also and perhaps more so a inson’s own gingerbread and rice teacakes, the East.” In her introductory remarks, Farr welcome diversifying ingredient, to be blend- with added Persian accents. told the story of her nearly lifelong associa- ed with the equally cherished flora and fauna tion with Emily Dickinson. Farr spoke of her of her New England surroundings. She then Future events are planned with the hope that as a most rewarding subject, whose integrity decoded some of Dickinson’s references to more of the many local writers, teachers, and as both an artist and a person she had always the East in her letters as her way of speaking lovers of Dickinson who were invited to this admired. to Samuel Bowles, or of referring to Susan first meeting might attend.

A Memorable November Meeting of the San Antonio Chapter Group By Nancy List Pridgen

n the evening of November 6, 2012, the that part out of the way because she assumed Don and Marian Swellander; Len Wheeler; OEDIS San Antonio Chapter Group was it would be easier! Not surprisingly, she never Sandy Barnwell; Peggy Lippert; and Bill Wad- honored to receive a really special guest to got to Keats. And since then, Ms. Guerra has dington, who has been featured in a Bulletin our meeting – EDIS President Jonnie Guerra! never left Dickinson behind. She has been ac- article presenting his calligraphy of myriad President Guerra was in town attending a con- tive in the Emily Dickinson International So- Dickinson poems. ference and had asked in advance to meet our ciety, serving on the Dickinson board of direc- chapter group. We chose the party room at La tors for many years, serving as president of the In addition to beverages, special refreshments, Madeleine French restaurant on Broadway for board for two sessions of several years each. and French dinners for those who chose to pur- our unique meeting. Our genial hosts provided chase them, Bill and Nancy provided a batch us with both privacy and delicious refresh- After President Guerra’s talk, she read a fa- of Dickinson gingerbread. ments as we shared favorite poems. vorite Dickinson poem, “The Crickets sang” (Fr1104), and each local member also intro- The members of the San Antonio EDIS Chap- President Guerra regaled us with the story of duced him or herself and read a favorite Dick- ter Group were delighted to meet the EDIS how she became involved with Dickinson’s inson poem, which the group then discussed president and expressed their deep apprecia- poetry. It seems that Ms. Guerra was planning briefly. In attendance were Bill and Nancy tion to Jonnie Guerra for attending our group. to write her doctorial dissertation on Keats and Pridgen; Rebeca Frees, who has published a Several members have spoken fondly of our Dickinson. Her primary interest was Keats. volume of poems herself (Echoes: A Collec- unique November meeting. It was an evening She began work on Dickinson in order to get tion of Free Verse Poems); Angela Seagraves; we will cherish for years and years to come.

May/June 2013 | 35 Members’ News

Emily Dickinson, World Citizen

EDIS 2013 International Conference, August 8 - 11, College Park, Maryland

I’m confident that Bravoes – In the evenings, participants will be Perpetual break abroad treated to Dickinson-related performanc- For Braveries, remote as this es. Following the opening reception on In Scarlet Maryland – Thursday, at which Diana Wagner will (Fr518) offer lovely guitar background, soprano Jane Sheldon and pianist Nicole Panizza o wrote Emily Dickinson, describing will perform a selection of musical set- Sthe heartbreaking death of a wom- tings from Dickinson’s own music folio. an’s “only boy” during the Civil War. Also featured will be an excerpt from This summer, “bravoes” will break out the stage adaptation of Barbara Dana’s again in Scarlet Maryland, but this time A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily for intellectual and artistic braveries. In Dickinson, which combines text from August, over 100 scholars from all over the novel with new musical settings of the world will gather in College Park, Dickinson poems (see Barbara Dana’s MD, for our international conference article about her artistic engagement exploring the theme of “Emily Dickin- with Dickinson, in this issue). Bill An- Poet Joseph Donahue will read as son, World Citizen.” drews will perform a couple of original well as delivering a keynote. musical compositions, including “I’m Photo Credit: Rose Vekony Dickinson may have seen “New Eng- Nobody.” landly,” but as a cosmopolitan reader, and the Tropical Eden,” as well as a va- she also crafted and cultivated numer- Friday will feature a keynote presenta- riety of special sessions, including one in ous affiliations beyond the local. Her tion, “Escaping Emily,” by Alexandra which graduate students will offer pecha imagination is global as well as minute, Socarides and a special luncheon address kucha presentations focusing on Emily and this conference explores her poli- by Judith Farr, entitled “Emily Dickinson Dickinson and popular culture. tics, her understanding of citizenship, her engagements with international cul- As part of the Friday evening reception tures and theirs with her. The conference and banquet, Sofie Livebrant will offer, coincides with the 25th anniversary of with accordion accompaniment, a selec- EDIS. Numerous receptions will pro- tion of songs from her Emily and I (re- vide ample opportunities to toast not viewed in the Spring 2012 Bulletin), and only Dickinson but the organization that poets Marilyn Nelson, David Keplinger, is passionate about spreading her work and Elizabeth Arnold will read from across the world, helping her become their work. After dinner Joseph Dona- the Global Citizen we now understand hue will offer a keynote on Dickinson’s her to be. poems’ travels through various hands and before us onto the printed page and Among the many celebratory events digital screens. planned will be the presentation of Dis- tinguished Service Award to Georgie Saturday activities will include a poetry Strickland, long-time editor of the EDIS Alex Socarides will deliver a keynote ad- reading by Joseph Donahue and possi- Bulletin. dress titled “Escaping Emily.” bly Susan Howe, and “An Evening of

36 | EDIS Bulletin Members’ News

The Willard Hotel, 1859 and 2013: Dickinson stayed at the Willard when she visited her father in Washington.

‘the Vitallest Expressions,’” when par- ticipants will be entertained with a wide range of dramatic, musical, and multi- media responses to Dickinson’s life and work: Barbara Mossberg’s “Flying with Emily Dickinson,” Walter Davis’s “Aberration of Starlight” (with actress Bethany Ford), Laurie McCants’s “In- dustrious Angels,” Mimi Zannino’s, “Time Travel with Emily Dickinson,” Emily Anderson’s “Sincerely, Mas- ter,” and Stephanie Strickland and Nick Montfort’s “Sea and Spar Between.”

Co-sponsored with American University, the conference events will be held on the flagship campus of primary sponsor, the University of Maryland, and conference housing will be on campus at the newly renovated Marriott Inn and Conference Center (where special ginger martinis will be available in the lounge!). The White House in Springtime. Conferees will be able to take advantage of the many historical and cultural resources in the DC area. Conferees will also be able to take advan- Photo Credit: Scott Abelman tage of the many historical and cultural

May/June 2013 | 37 Members’ News resources in the DC area. Those who ful shopping, and sporting events readily possible. A more than the usual amount would like can participate in a lovely available in the area. All participants will of time will be given over to Q&A dur- coda to the conference by taking high tea be receiving an “EDIS guide to Washing- ing the sessions, again allowing for ex- at the Willard Hotel, where Emily Dick- ton and Maryland” over the summer to tended, deep dialogue. inson stayed when she visited her father help plan such outings. when he was his district’s representative Among the topics to be covered in ses- to Congress, and where Julia Ward Howe In order to allow for maximum engage- sions: 21st Century Pedagogies; Emily wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Repub- ment with one another’s ideas, detailed Dickinson’s Transatlantic, Transtemporal lic” (be sure to make your reservations abstracts for all of the papers for this Contexts; Dickinson & Children’s Liter- by July 1st). Also available in DC are conference will be available in full on ature; Affect; Ecocriticism; Citizenship; the National Gallery, the Corcoran Mu- the conference website well before Au- Knowing ED through the Arts; Oriental- seum, the Phillips, the National Museum gust, and those abstracts will also be isms; Transdisciplinary Poetics; Trans- of Women in the Arts, the White House, printed in the program. In this way, par- oceanic literatures; ED & Politics; ED & U.S. Capitol, the numerous Smithsonian ticipants will be able to discuss one an- Religion. A full schedule will be avail- museums, and the other gardens, delight- other’s ideas more fully than is usually able on the EDIS website after June 1.

EDIS Membership Form Membership in the Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) enables you to participate in the Society’s meetings and conferences, to receive both of the Society’s publications (the Bulletin and the Emily Dickinson Journal), and to help foster the goals of the Society.

Name, title & affiliation ______Mailing address ______Telephone (home)______(office) ______(fax) ______Email ______Please check if this is: new address___ membership renewal ___

Annual Membership Categories: Sustaining Member (added to joint or regular membership) _____$150 or more Institutional Member _____$115 Contributing Member (added to joint or regular membership) _____$100 NEW: Joint EDIS/Dickinson Museum _____$100 Regular Member _____$50.00 Student Member _____$30.00 (All of the above Members receive both the Emily Dickinson Journal and the Bulletin) Associate Member __ $20.00 (Bulletin only)

I have included an additional tax-deductible contribution of $______to support the Society’s programs. Gift Memberships Name, title & affiliation ______Mailing address ______Telephone (home)______(office) ______(fax) ______Email ______Use additional page for further gift memberships. Please make check or money order payable, in U.S. dollars, to EDIS, Inc., and send to: EDIS; c/o Johns Hopkins University Press; P.O. Box 19966; Baltimore, MD 21211-0966 www.emilydickinsoninternationalsociety.org

38 | EDIS Bulletin The Sweets of Pillage

started early - took my Jog I passed the Haberdashery - Andrew Gaylard I Along South Pleasant Street - I passed the Nelsons' door - I heard but just the soft Kerflop Until the only other Boy n Winter – Midnight – in my Room, Of Sneakers on my Feet - Alive in Town - as 'twere - IMy problem bending o’er – A Raven tapped, then stepped inside – No Man must know I run before Came by me - did a Double Take - And perched above my door. The Ribbons fringe the skies - As "Emily don't run" - Don't tell! My purple Shirt and Shorts And whispered - doubtless - to himself - At first no syllable he spoke – Just might surprise their eyes! "That must have been the Son"! A Spectre’s Cloak he wore – I dared inquire its Owner’s Name – When cobbled byways beckoned rough He answered “Nevermore”. My Ancles disobeyed - The Notice on the startled Grass - I asked if he my Bridegroom knew – "Keep Off" - my Shoes defied - It might be one of four – And was there balm – in Gilead – Circumference completed - then - To soothe my trouble sore? Athletic as a Hare - I bounded - undetected yet - Again quoth he his sole reply. To my own Homestead door. I fear me what’s in store – That Beak and Claw – unmoving then – Will leave me – Nevermore –

Unto a Prowling Cat

nto a prowling cat Purring is Far More Wonderful UNo barking dog may go Without the expectation of urring is far more wonderful A claw-extended toe. PThan the attempt to speak. A purr is greater than a roar, If I Can Find More subtle than a squeak.

f I can find one mouse to batter Purrs lift and soothe your spirit II shall not stalk in vain And brighten your abode, If I can make some sparrows scatter Until you lose the company Till none remain Of purrs that eased your load. Felicia Nimue Ackerman Or take one tasty robin Your kitty's cordial purring, A Fluffy Fellow in My Lap Into my mouth again However much embraced, I shall not stalk in vain Must cease, and you will wonder fluffy fellow in my lap If it can be replaced. AContinually purrs -- You may have heard him -- did you not His purring joyful is --

He cares not if I'm rich or poor -- Or if I'm fat or slim -- Or if I’m tidy or unkempt -- Why can’t you be like him?

May/June 2013 | 39 Emily Dickinson, World Citizen College Park and Washington DC, August 8 - 11

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