Sundries

Saffron

Thanks for the heads up DWill! I enjoyed listening to the program. Bill Collins and Donald Hall read a few of their own poems.

Saffron

Brenda Wineapple "White Heat" (Knopf)

The reclusive Emily Dickinson sent letters and poems to a Massachusetts writer and abolitionist for more than thirty years. After her death, he played a key role in revealing Dickinson’s poetic genius to the world. The story and legacy of their unlikely and enduring friendship.

Brenda Wineapple, is the author of "Genet," "Sister Brother," and "Hawthorne. Her essays appear in many publications, including "The New York Times Book Review" and "The Nation.

Brenda Wineapple interview

Saffron

Here is the poem that the title, White Heat is taken from --

Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924.

Part One: Life

XXXIII

DARE you see a soul at the white heat?
Then crouch within the door.
Red is the fire’s common tint;
But when the vivid ore

Has sated flame’s conditions,
Its quivering substance plays
Without a color but the light
Of unanointed blaze.

Least village boasts its blacksmith,
Whose anvil’s even din
Stands symbol for the finer forge
That soundless tugs within,

Refining these impatient ores
With hammer and with blaze,
Until the designated light
Repudiate the forge.

Saffron · Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject:

One more interesting little tidbit from the NPR interview of Brenda Wineapple. A woman called into the Diane Rehm Show to tell a story (that she was told by her grandmother who experienced the events first hand) about a note her great grandparents received from Emily Dickinson. The story goes that when her great uncle, Benjamin Kendal Emerson was a small lad he was great friends with Gilbert Dickinson, Emily's nephew. Benjamin was noted as having lovely red curls and apparently the two boys would sleep over at each others houses. One day the two boys played in an open sewer and both were taken ill. Gilbert died and Benjamin recovered. Emily apparently sent over a small gift with the note:

Missing my own
I search in other trundle beds
in hopes curls are in

Thomas Hood · Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:42 pm Post subject:

http://www.xtimeline.com/timeline/Emily-Dickinson/Emily-s-nephew-Thoma s-Gilbert-dies-at-age-eight
Gib's picture and details of death

Saffron · Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:03 pm Post subject:

Tom, how nice to see you back on BT. Thanks for the great link!

Saffron

Thomas Hood · Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:15 pm Post subject:

Saffron · Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:37 pm Post subject:

Saffron · Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:51 pm Post subject:

For anyone who likes Dickinson, I highly recommend the following audio recording. My guess is that it will be hard to find, but well worth the effort. The letters, many written when Emily was but 16 years old, are as beautiful and revealing as her poetry.

Emily Dickinson: Poems and Letters
Written By: Emily Dickinson
Unabridged Cassette
( 2 Cassettes / 2.25 Hours )
By: Recorded Books, LLC
978-1-5569-0163-8
Narrated By: Alexandra O’Karma

Poems and Letters


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