In this issue
-- "Art has a 'Palate'": A Day of Food and Poetry for the Soul
-- Baking Contest
-- "Seeing New Englandly" Premiere
-- Friends of the Emily Dickinson Museum--NEW Membership Program! -- Upcoming Fall Programs -- Volunteering at the Emily Dickinson Museum -- Poetry Discussion Group -- Collections Spotlight: Calling Card Receiver -- About the Museum -- Are you on FacebookŪ? Join us!
The Summer deepened, while we strove -
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"Art has a 'Palate'": A Day of Food and Poetry for the Soul 
On Saturday, September 25, the Emily Dickinson Museum will host sixteen hours of programming, including a lecture, a marathon poetry reading, and a baking contest! All the programs will take place at the Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst and are free.
Marta McDowell, author of The Gardens of Emily Dickinson, will lead a workshop,"Put down the apple Adam": The Dickinsons' Apples and Figs, from 10 a.m. - Noon The program will begin with a talk, followed by a tasting of heirloom apples, figs, and products made from Dickinson-era recipes. Also included in the festivities will be the opening of "Art has a 'Palate'": The Dickinsons and Dining" at The Evergreens from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Drawing on family letters, inventories, and findings from recent architectural investigations, the museum will unveil a new interpretation of nineteenth-century dining and hospitality at The Evergreens. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with Museums10 summer/fall events, "Table for Ten." For full information about the day's activities, visit the museum's Events page on our website.
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Baking Contest 
In addition to the marathon and new exhibition on September 25, the Emily Dickinson Museum is sponsoring its first-ever Baking Contest! Emily Dickinson was well-known among friends and family for her baked goods. She even won second place (and 50 cents) for her Rye and Indian Bread in the 1856 Amherst Cattle Show! The contest includes Dickinson's recipes for gingerbread, black cake, and coconut cake as well as a category for Rye and Indian Bread. There are separate categories for young people and adults. Check the baking contest page on our website for entry forms, recipes, and guidelines. Deadline for the Intention to Enter must be submitted by Tuesday, September 21. Prizes will be awarded at 4 p.m.
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"Seeing New Englandly" Premiere "Seeing New Englandly" displays an impressive selection of Dickinson's subjects and features sixteen of the poet's poems and passages from her letters. The videography, shot in all four seasons, accompanies rarely seen illustrations from "Harper's Weekly" and other publications of the period. Tickets will be available at Amherst Cinema. The DVD will also be available for purchase at the screening and at the Emily Dickinson Museum Shop. For more information about the documentary see "Seeing New Englandly" on our website.
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Friends of the Emily Dickinson Museum--NEW Membership Program! The Friends of the Emily Dickinson Museum will provide an appealing way to join the community worldwide that celebrates the poet's work and finds meaning and merit in an organization dedicated to the same purpose.
Benefits of membership will include:
Look for information about becoming a Charter Member in the September E-update and take advantage of the discounted introductory rate of $40 at the Museum on September 25.
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Upcoming Fall Programs 
During the dog days of summer, the Emily Dickinson Museum put together an exciting selection of year-end programming. Be sure to mark your calendar for the following events:
Events are subject to change, so please check our events calendar when making your plans.
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Volunteering at the Emily Dickinson Museum 
Whether assisting young visitors with crafts, weeding the Dickinson gardens, or putting the finishing touches on special events, volunteers fulfill a vital role in helping us to preserve and share Emily Dickinson's poetic legacy.
Join the Museum Team! If you are interested in volunteering at the Emily Dickinson Museum, please e-mail your contact information and particular area of interest to info@emilydickinsonmuseum.org.
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Poetry Discussion Group 
The Museum's Poetry Discussion Group begins its season on Friday, September 17. In keeping with the theme of food and dining in other programs at the Museum this fall, the first session will focus on poems that use "wine" and "liquor" as metaphor. Harrison Gregg will facilitate the discussion, which will take place from noon to 2 p.m. at the Amherst College Alumni House on Spring Street.
The Emily Dickinson Museum's Poetry Discussion Group meets monthly on Friday afternoons, September through May, for a brown bag lunch and lively conversation about Emily Dickinson's poetry: favorite poems, challenging poems, and the poet's craft. For more information, contact Nan Fischlein, program coordinator, at nfischlein@emilydickinsonmuseum.org or at (413) 542-2034.
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Collections Spotlight: Calling Card Receiver 
Calling on friends and acquaintances was an important part of nineteenth-century social life for the middle class, even in rural Amherst. The rituals around making calls included the use of calling cards. A calling card receiver, as its name aptly implies, provided a place for visitors to leave these material reminders of their visit. The receiver at The Evergreens consists of a brass bowl placed upon a marble-topped stand. As was typical of the time, the Dickinsons probably acquired the two pieces separately and then combined them to create the receiver. Despite Emily Dickinson's reputation for reclusiveness, the poet did make calls in her younger years and had her own calling card. In a note to her sister-in-law, she hinted at how exhausting such a social regimen could be: "[I] have made calls this afternoon, and accidentally left my mind at Prof Warner's. " (1859, L201). Today, the calling card receiver at The Evergreens reminds museum visitors that they, too, are part of the long tradition of calling upon the Dickinsons. If you'd like to learn more about the rituals surrounding social calls in nineteenth-century America, please see Death in the Dining Room and Other Tales of Victorian Culture by Kenneth Ames (Temple University Press, 1992).
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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 responsible for 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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Are you on FacebookŪ? Join us! 
The Museum has created a presence on Facebook to share information and tools with the Facebook commmunity. Become a fan today! Just Click on the Facebook Icon.
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Quick Links... |
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For general information, contact the Museum at
Recorded Information:
413-542-8161
Website:
http://www.EmilyDickinsonMuseum.org
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