E-Update Header

April 2007

In this issue
-- "A little Madness in the Spring" happening this weekend
-- The Amherst Connection: Emerson Comes to Emily Dickinson on May 4
-- Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk set for Saturday, May 12
-- 2007 Emily Dickinson Museum poster released
-- Museum receives NEH grant for teacher workshops
-- Architecture tour update

Greetings!

April is a busy time at the Emily Dickinson Museum. Not only are we open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., but the spring is also when buses of school children visit the property, eager to spend a day getting to know the poet they've only learned about in English class.

In addition to school children, we've invited another species altogether to the Museum this spring. This year's "A little Madness in the Spring" program, set for this coming weekend, features a celebration of Emily Dickinson's canine companion, Carlo. Who better to celebrate the poet's loyal friend than man's best friend? Dogs of all sizes (along with their owners) are invited to enjoy a dog-inspired afternoon on the Museum's lawn this Sunday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Read more about the rest of our "Madness" calendar below.

We hope you'll enjoy seeing what's sprung up this spring at the Emily Dickinson Museum.


"A little Madness in the Spring" happening this weekend
Join the Emily Dickinson Museum this weekend for our sometimes silly, sometimes serious celebration of National Poetry Month, "A little Madness in the Spring." Our keynote talk by Jeanne Braham and Barry Moser on 'The Nature of Portraiture' kicks off the weekend on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Amherst Woman's Club and is introduced by former Poet Laureate of the United States Richard Wilbur who will give a reading.

Marta McDowell follows them at 2 p.m. with a healthy heaping of gardener's dirt and architecture. "A Gardener's Guide to Emily Dickinson's Herbarium" features a lecture on Dickinson's collection of pressed flowers. Two optional gardening workshops on Dickinson's herbarium and conservatory follow at the Homestead. Both require pre-registration and a materials fee of $25. To pre-register, call 413/542- 2034 or e-mail Nan Fischlein.

Saturday also includes the launch of the Museum's landscape audio tour "Grounds of Memory" with a special reading by poet Mary Jo Salter.

On Sunday, the Emily Dickinson Museum goes to the dogs with a program that celebrates Emily Dickinson's canine companion Carlo. Dog lovers are invited to bring their poetry-loving pooches to the Museum grounds from 12:30 to 2 p.m. for an afternoon of dog amusements including a doggy parade that recreates the poet's walks with Carlo.

To top off the fun and games, Katherine C. Grier, author of Pets in America, gives a 3 p.m. talk at the Amherst Woman's Club on the history of the domesticated dog in America.

Click here for a full schedule of "Madness" events


The Amherst Connection: Emerson Comes to Emily Dickinson on May 4
On May 4 at noon in the Garden Room at the Lord Jeffery Inn in Amherst, the Dickinson Homestead's first resident-curator, Jean Mudge, will give a talk based on her most recent project, a documentary about Ralph Waldo Emerson. Mudge has produced books and articles and made documentary films and videos on notable American subjects for more than thirty years following her tenure at the Museum. While curator of the Homestead from 1965-1976, Mudge wrote a book on the poet, Emily Dickinson and the Image of Home, and co-authored Emily Dickinson: Profile of the Poet as Cook. She later produced a film, Emily Dickinson: A Certain Slant of Light.


Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk set for Saturday, May 12
Put on your walking shoes and join Emily Dickinson enthusiasts for a moving (literally) poetry reading that visits historical spots in Amherst significant to the poet's life and work. The walk begins at 1 p.m. at the Emily Dickinson Museum. Held annually to commemorate the poet's death on May 15, 1886. Feeling particularly energetic? NEW THIS YEAR: Volunteer to read a poem during the walk! Poems will be distributed at the walk's starting place, the Homestead garden, beginning at 12:45 p.m. Afterwards, relax with a stopover at the Emily Dickinson Museum for a free self-guided open house from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Sign up to read a poem by clicking here


2007 Emily Dickinson Museum poster released
The Museum is thrilled to present a new poster celebrating its 2007 season. The poster was designed by illustrator Penelope Dullaghan. Dullaghan's work has been published in The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, Runner's World, Town and Country and numerous other national and international publications. Clients include Target, United Airlines, Saatchi & Saatchi and American Greetings. Dullaghan's illustrations have been recognized by Communication Arts and the Society of Illustrators. Learn more about Penelope Dullaghan at
www.penelopeillustration.com.

Posters are available for $12 at the Museum's Tour Center and can also be ordered via mail. If ordering by mail, please send a check for $15 (includes shipping and handling) to:

Emily Dickinson Museum
Tour Center
280 Main Street
Amherst, MA 01002

Order a poster


Museum receives NEH grant for teacher workshops
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded the Emily Dickinson Museum a $57,000 grant for a Faculty Humanities Workshop designed specifically for K-12 teachers. The teacher workshop will take place over two one-week sessions in July and will extend into three Saturdays during the school year. The award gives Museum educators the opportunity to expose teachers to Emily Dickinson and her home while working together to create lesson plans that more fully integrate Emily Dickinson into the Massachusetts curriculum. Know a Massachusetts teacher working in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin and Berkshire counties who'd love the chance to bring Emily into the classroom? At the bottom of this e-update, click the "Forward" button. Please contact Cindy Dickinson, director of interpretation and programming for more information and an application.


Architecture tour update
Thanks go out to all the Museum's friends who completed our online survey about tour preferences. Your responses were a tremendous help as we continue to plan for the release of the Museum's next tour - an architecture-inspired experience. Expect details in early summer!


The Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead and The Evergreens is dedicated to educating diverse audiences about the poet's life, family, creative work, times, and enduring relevance, and to preserving and interpreting the Homestead and The Evergreens as historical resources for the benefit of scholars and the general public. The Emily Dickinson Museum is owned by the Trustees of Amherst College and has its own Board of Governors, which is charged with the responsibility of raising the Museum's operating and capital funds. To find out how you can support the Emily Dickinson Museum, click here.

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