Dear Reader,
Throughout my life, there have been
a plethora of authors whom I have become enamored of; one of them is Emily
Dickinson. I have many of her poems
memorized, and remember singing them to Amazing Grace, The Yellow Rose of
Texas, and the Gilligan’s Island Theme Song upon many occasions. When we had the opportunity to select our
topic for the final quarter independent reading, Dickinson seemed like the
perfect topic. Not only do I like the
author, but she attended Mount Holyoke where I am going next year.
I read the novel The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson by
Jerome Charyn, which details Dickinson’s life in her own voice. Although Charyn adds fictional characters, he
follows closely the events of her life.
While my initial idea was to research Mount Holyoke, where the novel
begins, I was fascinated by Dickinson herself and focused on her life.
I was surprised to find Dickinson
was outspoken early in her life not just on the page. Many people know her poetry, but few know
about her life; her reason for reclusion and male friend by the name of “Master”
remain a mystery today. I wanted to
investigate her life off the page, as I only before read her poetry.
For one of my genres, I wrote a poem
in the same meter Dickinson used. It was
fun to fit the words into this structure, as I have sung the poems of Dickinson
for years. I wrote about her life and
the mysteries behind it even her closest family and friends never solved.
I also wrote an annotated
recipe. Charyn wrote about Dickinson’s
famous bread at Mount Holyoke, and the Emily Dickinson Museum has a post about
her bread, for she was quite the baker.
She often sent loaves to friends, especially her father, for he adored
her baking. This genre seemed like a
personal touch in getting to understand Dickinson.
One thing that has always fascinated
me about Dickinson is the fact that during her life, she was not known as a
poet. Now, almost everyone has heard
abut her. Her sister Lavinia, or Vinnie,
was assigned the task of destroying her letters and journals upon her death and
came across all of the hand bound volumes Dickinson had stored away. I chose to write a letter from Vinnie to her
brother Austin about her excitement at discovering the wonderful poetry of
their sister, as I have often wondered how she felt.
For the final genre, I made an art
piece. I drew a picture of Dickinson in
the quotes of her poems, and titled it, “A Poet in her Own Words.” Most people only know Dickinson for her
poetry, so I wanted to depict her in the way she is remembered.
Throughout my genres, I used a white
dress as my golden thread. Neighbors
often described seeing Dickinson out around her house in the evenings wearing a
white dress. She was an avid gardener,
and this was one of the few times she left the safety of her home. Adorned in white, she looked like a ghost,
and that reminded me of the mystery behind the poetess. I included a white dress in each piece to
represent the parts of her life no one knows about.
I hope you enjoy!
Angelina
