Tantalizing stuff here, amiga! I second Rhody's podcast suggestion. Readings from the poems and letters and letter poems performed, opened up in the context of the time, different voices....
One question. Why say "she always wore white" when the two authenticated photos show her wearing dark duds? Was the white-clad recluse one of Mabel's inventions?
Emily’s white dresses were a real thing, not mythic. One of her white dresses is on display in her bedroom at the Dickinson house, now a museum in Amherst, Massachusetts that is well worth the pilgrimage. She didn’t start wearing white until about 1862, and even then she didn’t exclusively wear white. She made so few public appearances in her adult life (she was very much out and about as a youngster), and she chose white when she’d be seen. In the only verified photo of her, she’s wearing back, but she’s about 18 years old. In the other photo believed to be her (with Kate Anthon, another love interest besides Sue), both women are wearing black for a formal photograph. References to her white dresses are common in various memoirs of her written by those who knew her in Amherst.
I've wondered the exact same thing, Joe! I feel like the myth of all white has to be something perpetuated for the recluse mystique, because neither photo shows her in white! Maybe she just had a white dress she really loved to wear around the house.
And since Rhody mentioned it, I've been kicking the idea around in my head, trying to envision the best way to structure it. I think a podcast would be amazing!
Fantastic! Like you, I have “moored” in Emily Dickinson’s poetry and I’m happy to stay there. Really enjoyed your own take on her life. I write about her, too, at https://substack.com/@iraf. Every poem of hers -1,879 of them - is worthy of its own essay. Thanks for yours!
Tantalizing stuff here, amiga! I second Rhody's podcast suggestion. Readings from the poems and letters and letter poems performed, opened up in the context of the time, different voices....
One question. Why say "she always wore white" when the two authenticated photos show her wearing dark duds? Was the white-clad recluse one of Mabel's inventions?
Cheers!
Emily’s white dresses were a real thing, not mythic. One of her white dresses is on display in her bedroom at the Dickinson house, now a museum in Amherst, Massachusetts that is well worth the pilgrimage. She didn’t start wearing white until about 1862, and even then she didn’t exclusively wear white. She made so few public appearances in her adult life (she was very much out and about as a youngster), and she chose white when she’d be seen. In the only verified photo of her, she’s wearing back, but she’s about 18 years old. In the other photo believed to be her (with Kate Anthon, another love interest besides Sue), both women are wearing black for a formal photograph. References to her white dresses are common in various memoirs of her written by those who knew her in Amherst.
Yes! It's interesting how sometimes people take one thing - someone's affinity for white dresses, say - and turns it into a myth past a certain point.
I've wondered the exact same thing, Joe! I feel like the myth of all white has to be something perpetuated for the recluse mystique, because neither photo shows her in white! Maybe she just had a white dress she really loved to wear around the house.
And since Rhody mentioned it, I've been kicking the idea around in my head, trying to envision the best way to structure it. I think a podcast would be amazing!
"Like sisters, really" LOL
This was a fascinating read, you could make a podcast on this!
LOL right? That one cracked me up
And I agree! Now to decide if I do all my Snail Mail Sweethearts articles as one episode per month or just do a season per letter exchange...
Fantastic! Like you, I have “moored” in Emily Dickinson’s poetry and I’m happy to stay there. Really enjoyed your own take on her life. I write about her, too, at https://substack.com/@iraf. Every poem of hers -1,879 of them - is worthy of its own essay. Thanks for yours!