In this issue
-- Nominate Your Favorite Dickinson Poem during THE BIG READ
-- THIS SATURDAY, April 18: Gordon Getty and "The White Election"
-- Get in on the Ground Floor with Emily Dickinson 101
-- Getting Comfortable with Reading Dickinson Aloud -- Award-winning author Jane Yolen reads My Uncle Emily May 2 -- An Original Ballet about Emily Dickinson -- May 16 Poetry Walk Amid Full Dickinson Weekend -- Help Support the Emily Dickinson Museum -- "my Verse is alive" Exhibition -- About the Museum
The Big Read: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson is underway at the Emily Dickinson Museum from April to June. Keep reading for more information.
Museum Hours
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Nominate Your Favorite Dickinson Poem during THE BIG READ 
The Big Read: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
is part of
a pilot initiative created by the National Endowment for
the Arts in partnership with the Poetry Foundation to
celebrate great American poets and the nation's
historic poetry locales.
During The Big Read, votes will be taken for favorite poems by Emily Dickinson from April 4 through June 4. The top 25 poems will be read at The Big Read's closing event, a Poetry Picnic on the museum grounds, on June 13. There are three ways to nominate your favorite poem: by e-mail, by snail mail to the museum at 280 Main Street, Amherst MA 01002, or by stopping at the museum's Tour Center during open hours. Free copies of Reader's Guides to the poetry of Emily Dickinson and selected poems are available to all program attendees for the duration of the The Big Read while supplies last. The Reader's Guide is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts with the support of the Poetry Foundation. |
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THIS SATURDAY, April 18: Gordon Getty and "The White Election" 
Saturday, April 18, 3 p.m."The White Election" First Congregational Church, 165 Main Street, Amherst Suggested contribution: $15 adults, $5 students at the door Composer Gordon Getty visits Amherst for a performance of his song cycle of 32 poems by Emily Dickinson as a new recording of this significant work is released. About the inspiration for this work, Getty said, "I was in Paris at an English-language bookstore. I picked up a volume of Dickinson's poetry. I came back to my hotel, read 2,000 of her poems and immediately began composing in my head. I wrote down the melodies even before I got to a piano." The title of the composition comes from Dickinson's 1862 poetic declaration "Mine - by the Right of the White Election! . . . Mine - by the Grave's Repeal. . . ." "The White Election" will be performed in Amherst by soprano Lisa Delan and pianist Kristin Pankonin.
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Get in on the Ground Floor with Emily Dickinson 101 Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst Co-sponsored with the Jones Library No charge
An introduction to Emily Dickinson and her poetry for
all who are curious about her life and work but aren't
sure where to begin. Pre-registration is requested; walk-ins welcome on a space-available basis. Register by contacting Nan Fischlein, or Beth Girshman, or the Jones Library reference desk. ASL interpretation is available with three weeks notice by contacting Beth Girshman.
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Getting Comfortable with Reading Dickinson Aloud 
Wednesdays, April 29, May 6, May 133 to 4:30 p.m. Emily Out Loud: Oral Interpretation with Emily Dickinson's Poetry Large Meeting Room, Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst Co-sponsored with the Jones Library No charge Emily Dickinson is known to have recited her own poems to favorite relatives. During these three sessions, an Emily Dickinson Museum guide and a retired English teacher works with children and young people to understand and share a Dickinson poem aloud. Learn how to make poetry "breathe" through oral interpretation and how to be comfortable in front of an audience. This program is for young people ages 8 to young adult. Because of limited class size, please pre- register by e-mailing Nan Fischlein or by contacting the Children's Desk at the Jones Library in person or at 413-259-3091. Participants will receive a packet of Dickinson poems in advance of the first meeting.
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Award-winning author Jane Yolen reads My Uncle Emily May 2 
Saturday, May 2, 10 a.m.At the Dickinson Homestead Jane Yolen reads from her new book, My Uncle Emily, a children's story based on the relationship between Emily Dickinson and her young nephew Gilbert. In My Uncle Emily, Yolen spins an imaginative story of Emily Dickinson's young nephew Gilbert as he struggles through a difficult day at school and at home. Gilbert calls his Aunt "Uncle" because it is a family joke, but it is just the beginning of his problems as he attempts to defend his creative and unusual Aunt to his schoolmates. Through his battles and his Aunt's poetry, Gilbert learns a lesson in what matters most. Jane Yolen and illustrator, Nancy Carpenter, bring to life 19th-century Amherst and the Dickinson family homes, the Homestead and The Evergreens in this beautiful and charming children's book.
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An Original Ballet about Emily Dickinson 
"Emily of Amherst" -- an interpretive
biographical ballet
about the poet -- premieres in Amherst on May 15, the
anniversary of Dickinson's death in 1886.Performance schedule: Friday, May 15, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 17, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. All performances are at Kirby Memorial Theater, Amherst College. Matinee performances begin with brief demonstrations of class repertoire by young students. Admission: Adults $18; Seniors $16; Children (3-18) $12 Tickets are available at Amherst Ballet, 29 Strong Street, Amherst MA 01002. Phone: 413-549-1555. E-mail info@amherstballet.org. Cash/checks only, payable to Amherst Ballet. "Emily of Amherst," a ballet in four acts, was created by Amherst Ballet in collaboration with the Emily Dickinson Museum to honor the 250th anniversary of the Town of Amherst in 2009. Through dance, a score based on music found in Dickinson's portfolio, and quotations from poems and letters, the ballet captures vignettes from Emily Dickinson's early years as a student at the Amherst Academy, her young adulthood, and life as a working poet. A finale presentation emphasizes the impact Dickinson has had upon a worldwide readership. A special Fund-raising Tea takes place on Sunday, May 17, at 4:30 p.m. in Emily Dickinson's gardens. Sample 19th-century delicacies while listening to music and her poetry read by award-winning author Jane Yolen. Seating is limited; reserve a place by contacting Amherst Ballet by e-mail or phone (413-549-1555).
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May 16 Poetry Walk Amid Full Dickinson Weekend 
A long-standing Amherst tradition dating back to the
1970s, the Poetry Walk marks the anniversary of the
poet's death by reading Dickinson's work at six
historic sites in Amherst, ending at her gravesite. The
Walk begins at the Dickinson Homestead,
Saturday, May 16, at 1:00 p.m. In case of rain,
the readings will be held indoors at
First Congregational Church, 165 Main Street, across
the street from the museum.
This year's Walk features five area poets-Deborah Gorlin, Daniel Hall, Lisa Olstein, Pat Schneider, and Ellen Watson--who read and comment on their favorite Dickinson poems. Attendees will receive a souvenir booklet containing the poems the readers selected for the Walk. An open house at the Homestead and The Evergreens and booksigning with the poets (from 3 to 4 p.m.) follows. This is an unusual opportunity to talk with poets about the vocation they share with Emily Dickinson.
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Help Support the Emily Dickinson Museum 
The Emily Dickinson Museum offers an unparalleled
glimpse into the life of one of the world's
greatest poets. The Homestead is a National Historic
Landmark, and the Emily Dickinson Museum has
recently been designated an American
Literary Landmark by the
National Endowment for the Arts. The museum has
grown dramatically
in its programs, audience, and
impact in the five years since its creation
in 2003, and attracts worldwide attention. It owes its success in large measure to the generous encouragement of its many dedicated friends and supporters who have seen the rampant possibilities in the Emily Dickinson Museum. We need your support to continue to offer tours, programs, and connection with the poet's world such as those you see in these Emily E-Updates. Find out more about how you can assist the Museum by clicking on the link below, or by contacting executive director Jane Wald. Please send your contribution to: Emily Dickinson Museum Annual Fund, 280 Main Street, Amherst MA 01002. Your help is especially appreciated during these challenging economic times. Thank you in advance for your support. |
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"my Verse is alive" Exhibition 
"my Verse is alive,"
a provocative exhibit exploring the intriguing
posthumous
publication of Dickinson's poetry, continues
at the
Emily Dickinson Museum Tour Center during regular
museum hours.
The exhibit takes its title from Emily Dickinson's 1862 query to author and activist Thomas Wentworth Higginson: "Are you too deeply occupied to say if my Verse is alive?" With documents and family artifacts, the exhibit traces the creation of her literary reputation through the competing efforts and loyalties of family members and intimates in the first fifty years after the poet's death.
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About the Museum 
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. The Museum
is a member of
Museums10, a collaboration of ten
museums linked to the five colleges in the Pioneer
Valley.
The Tour Center may be reached at 413-542-2947, Wednesday through Sunday, during museum hours.
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Quick Links... |
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Contact Information
phone:
413/542-8161
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