Signed, Sealed, Delivered – Emily Dickinson Envelope Poems

December 10, 2013

emilyFifty-two “envelope poems” written by Emily Dickinson in the early 1860s have been published in a coffee table size book titled Emily Dickinson: The Gorgeous Nothings. These “pocket-size” poems  written on parts of envelopes have been in print since the 1950s, but “this is the first book devoted to full-color, actual-size facsimiles of a specific body of her work.” One of the poems begins” The way/Hope builds his/House” and is written on a “piece of house-shaped paper.” For more about these poems and the poet who “pushed the envelope”, check out this article in the New York Times. EPL is purchasing this book for its collection.

Laura


Go Online with Emily

October 25, 2013

23dickinson-span-articleLargeDickinson – that is. The Emily Dickinson Archive which was inaugurated Wednesday gives scholars and lay readers access to “high-resolution photos of thousands of the poet’s manuscripts, including envelopes or bits of paper with poems jotted on them, letters, doodles, and many, many exuberant em-dashes.” The project reignited a decades-long dispute between Harvard and Amherst, which hold the two largest collections of Dickinson’s papers. When Emily Dickinson died in 1886, she left behind “just 10 published poems and a vast and enigmatic handwritten paper trail.” And that’s when the trouble began. Read more about the quarrel here and check the EPL catalog for works by this fascinating poet.

Laura


National Poetry Month: April 24th

April 24, 2012

“Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
 .
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash a little Bird
That kept so many warm –
 .
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

This poem was selected by Laura H. (Readers’ Services)

Poetry Copyright Notice



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