The Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum - PLOG: Poetry Blog

Nacho Average Relationship

2/26/2020

From our food editor, Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

To be sure, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) and Emily Dickinson endured a volatile relationship with many conflicts and – as many biographers report – life-long social dysfunction.

One peculiar but significant confrontation between the two third cousins occurred in February 1871 as Emmett Lee Dickinson lobbied congress to set May as National Margarita Month. Ultimately congress landed on February 22nd as “National Margarita Day” in honor of Margarita Seward, the sister of President Lincoln's Secretary of State William Seward. Information about Dickinson's work with Congress is HERE.

As Dickinson worked closely with congressional leaders, word leaked from Amherst that Emily Dickinson and her family had petitioned Senator Charles Sumner to introduce a bill establishing February 24 as National Tortilla Chip Day – the very date on which Emily Dickinson had invented the recipe for Cajun Nachos.

Emmett Lee Dickinson was livid. He viewed this as attempt of the Dickinsons of Amherst to eclipse his work with National Margarita Day. In the midst of all of their quarreling, Dickinson wrote his cryptic lines “We bear our somber Stresses when we fight” (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen “We wear our sober Dresses when we die” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

We bear our somber Stresses when
we fight,
But some are filled as for a Holiday
Adorned for Sleight –

By Emily Dickinson:

We wear our sober Dresses when
we die,
But Summer, frilled as for a Holiday
Adjourns her Sigh –

When February 24 was, in fact, set as “National Tortilla Chip Day,” many viewed Emmett Lee Dickinson’s next move as a cunning coup de grâce: he took Emily’s idea one step further, and he invented the all-you-can-eat nacho bar. The first of its kind was introduced on a river boat on the Monongahela River. More information about the Dickinson-nacho connection can be found HERE (scroll down to the entry dated November 5).

For all of our posts on National Margarita Day, click HERE and scroll down. For all of our posts on Nachos, click HERE.

Below: No poet has written more poems about Margaritas than Emmett Lee Dickinson, and we were thrilled when the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum website was chosen as the official website for National Margarita Day -- for the fifth year in a row!

Wing It

2/23/2020

From our food editor, Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

WE POSTED THIS INFO A FEW WEEKS BACK ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY:

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Of course, we wouldn't have a Super Bowl with Emmett Lee Dickinson -- for details, click HERE (scroll down to the entry dated June 10). Much more information (and additional poems) about the Dickinson/Super Bowl connection is included in our plog (poetry blog), To access that information, click HERE.

In celebration of Super Bowl Sunday, we have posted Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem about the Super Bowl, "Of this this Day's composed," as one of our Featured Poems of the Week (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem, "Of this is Day composed," our other featured poem (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Of this this Day’s composed
A first and second half
A Revelry unspeakable
And then a funny ad
The Teams advance each turn
With power and with drive
A Super Bowl of glory
Resplendently alive!

By Emily Dickinson:

Of this is Day composed
A morning and a noon
A Revelry unspeakable
And then a gay unknown
Whose Pomps allure and spurn
And dower and deprive
And penury for Glory
Remedilessly leave.

Of course, Emmett Lee Dickinson is also connected to the evolution of the Super Bowl buffet -- and what would a Super Bowl buffet be with out Buffalo wings (a favorite of Emily and Lavinia Dickinson)? Therefore, we thought we'd post an additional poem today, Emmett Lee Dickinson's "Ferocious as a Fan without a wing" (below on the right). This short poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen "Ferocious as a Bee without a wing" (below on the left).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Ferocious as a Fan without a wing
One Dipped in Honey and one Dipped
in Sting*
So at the hour present the Dip to me

*Hot sauce

By Emily Dickinson:

Ferocious as a Bee without a wing
The Prince of Honey and the Prince
of Sting
So plain a flower present her Disk to thee

Bar Wars

2/22/2020

From Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) established National Margarita Day in 1871 (Info HERE and HERE).

The holiday proved to be so popular, that the following year, Margaritas were in such high demand, that drinkers depleted the nation’s supply of tequila by the end of February setting off what has now been dubbed the “Great Tequila Shortage of 1872” and the “Great Tequila Famine.”

The lack of tequila continued into May. On Cinco de Mayo, bars had no tequila with which to serve Margaritas so riots broke out in cities across the country – and that occurrence has by many historians been known as “Bar Wars.”

Below: Rioting in Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport, Massachusetts, as a result of the Great Tequila Famine.

Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote about the Great Tequila Famine and the Bar Wars of 1872 in his poem "Have you got Margaritas at your little bar" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "Have you got a Brook in your little heart" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Have you got Margaritas at your little bar,
Where strong tequila flows,
And rushing crowds come down to drink –
And shakers rattle so –

And everyone knows, so much they flow,
That any Margarita’s there,
And yes your little draught of life
Is daily drunken there –

Why – look out for the thirsty crowd
in February,
On National Margarita Day,
And the throngs come hurrying from
the hills,
And the barstools fill and stay –

And later in May on the Cinco day,
When the drinkers parching buy,
Beware, lest this little drink of life
Some Happy Hour runs dry!

By Emily Dickinson:

Have you got a Brook in your little heart,
Where bashful flowers blow,
And blushing birds go down to drink –
And shadows tremble so –

And nobody knows, so still it flows,
That any brook is there,
And yet your little draught of life
Is daily drunken there –

Why – look out for the little brook
in March,
When the rivers overflow,
And the snows come hurrying from
the hills,
And the bridges often go –

And later, in August it may be,
When the meadows parching lie,
Beware, lest this little brook of life
Some burning noon go dry!

A Portraiture of a Pared Tree

2/22/2020

Guest post from our gardening editor, Elbert Shrubbs:

To paraphrase a bit of Emily, it feels shorter than the day, but 'tis weeks since I first surmised the shores of west coast Florida.

I traveled to the vicinity of Venice Beach in late December 2019 with a number of DOPEs (the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts) and Jim Asher, the world's leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). Asher was there to read some of Dickinson’s poetry on North Port, Florida's WKDW world-wide mega-hit “Writers on the Air." Information about his appearance on WKDW HERE.

While we were in Florida, we also took time to visit Wigert's Bonsai Nursey -- for it was Emmett Lee Dickinson himself who proclaimed, "I think that I shall never see a short poem lovely as a bonsai tree" (a line which inspired poet Joyce Kilmer to write his poem, "Trees").

And Dickinson was right. The bonsai trees at Wigert's were nothing short of enchanting.

Note: The photos below do not do justice to how beautiful all the trees were!

Below: While in Florida, we also visited the bonsai gardens of one our hosts, bonsai artist Rick Johnstone of North Port.

To see our past posts on bonsai, click HERE and HERE. Also, check out our post on our visit to Lakeland, FL, HERE.

Any Way You Slice It

2/21/2020

From Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

February 22 is National Margarita Day, one of the most celebrated of the mid-February holidays.

The holiday was established by America's greatest poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). Information is HERE.

Below: A vintage postcard for National Margarita Day -- with a likeness of Emmett Lee Dickinson's left hand.

On the day Dickinson inaugurated the holiday, he did so with his now-classic poem, "There's a certain Slice of lime" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "There's a certain Slant of light" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

There’s a certain Slice of lime,
Five O’clock each Day –
That impresses, like a Gift
On a Holiday –

Heavenly Sent, it gives us –
We let down our guard,
But internal confidence –
Where the Meanings, are –

All may taste it – Any –
‘Tis the fruit of Awe –
An imperial addiction
Sent us from the Bar –

When it comes, the Salt Rim glistens –
Promise – floats on ice –
When it goes, ’tis like the Essence
Of an Afterlife –

By Emily Dickinson:

There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –

Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference –
Where the Meanings, are –

None may teach it – Any –
'Tis the seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –

When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –

Below left and right: Vintage postcards for National Margarita Day.

I'll Have Another

2/20/2020

From Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

Shortly after Emmett Lee Dickinson established February 22 as National Margarita Day, John Greenleaf Whittier wrote "Maud Muller," a poem that focused on the holiday.

The story Whittier's work is about a bar maid named Maud Muller, and on National Margarita Day, she is a bit smitten with a mysterious customer -- until she realizes that he’s just another drunk whose only interest is ordering another pitcher of Margaritas.

The poem contains a very well-known quotation: "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: ‘My margarita glass is empty again.’”

Pictured at the right: A sad sight for National Margarita Day -- an empty Margarita glass.

The poem "Maud Muller" inspired Emmett Lee Dickinson to write, "How much the present moment means" (below on the left), a depressing and woeful look at drinkers running out of Margaritas. Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem with the same opening line (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

How much the present moment means
To those who've nothing more –
The Lush – the Drunk – the Regular –
Stake an entire store
Upon a fully salted Rim
While their empty Glasses
The Blessings of a Happy Hour
Do all but satiate –

By Emily Dickinson:

How much the present moment means
To those who've nothing more –
The Fop – the Carp – the Atheist –
Stake an entire store
Upon a Moment's shallow Rim
While their commuted Feet
The Torrents of Eternity
Do all but inundate –

Celebrate National Margarita Day with more Margarita poetry by Emmett Lee Dickinson -- click HERE.

Elixir of Lime

2/19/2020

From Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

Saturday, February 22, 2020, is National Margarita Day.

Yes. I know what you're thinking. Isn't every day National Margarita Day?

While that sentiment is true, we do set one day of the year aside to pay tribute to the lime libation invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request (Information HERE).

Of course, most poetry enthusiasts know that no poet wrote more poems about coffee than Emmett Lee Dickinson (info HERE) – but did you know that the same thing holds true for Margaritas?

We've published some of Dickinson's poems about Margaritas in several plog (poetry blog) posts in the past – HERE. One of my favorites is "Between the form of Life and Lime" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "Between the form of Life and Life" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Between the form of Life and Lime
The difference is the ice
And Liquor at the Lip with salt
Is Liquor to Entice
The matter – excellent to sip –
And for ecstatic need
On the rocks is superior –
I know for I have tried

By Emily Dickinson:

Between the form of Life and Life
The difference is as big
As Liquor at the Lip between
And Liquor in the Jug
The latter – excellent to keep –
But for ecstatic need
The corkless is superior –
I know for I have tried

Truth Decay

2/16/2020

From Dorothy Dawe:

For President's Day 2020, the strange and wonderful road-side attraction of decaying Presidents’ Heads in a field near Williamsburg, Virginia, is the perfect metaphor of the American presidency since 2016.

In the early 2000s, the heads stood in a park in Williamsburg. However, there wasn’t enough public interest so the park closed down. A contractor was hired to remove and destroy the heads – but he didn’t have the heart to demolish them – so he crowded them into a field behind his house.

Picture below: Presidents Park in Williamsburg, VA -- before Donald Trump.

In recent years the heads have begun to decline and deteriorate – symbolic of Donald Trump’s destruction of the office of the presidency and our democracy.

Pictured below: The presidents' heads now sit in a field near Williamsburg, Virginia.

Pictured below: Sunset on the American presidency -- symbolic of the decline of the office since the inauguration of Donald Trump:

The decline of the office of the presidency calls to mind Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem from 1882 poem, "Had this Decay not been" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "Had this one Day not been" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Had this Decay not been.
Or could it cease to be
How awesome, how super for us,
To save Democracy!

But Truth we value less
And Lies we value more
Add in our ivory privilege,
Crave eighteen-sixty-four.

By Emily Dickinson:

Had this one Day not been.
Or could it cease to be
How smitten, how superfluous,
Were every other Day!

Lest Love should value less
What Loss would value more
Had it the stricken privilege,
It cherishes before.

Pictured at the right: A model for a giant head of Barrack Obama: Before the park closed, the artist made a prototype of Obama. When the park closed for good, the twent-foot Obama head was never sculpted.

Pictured below: Before heading to Williamsburg to view the presidents' heads, we stopped at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond to see Kehinde Wiley's latest work, "Rumors of War."

Silly Love Songs — Part 3

2/14/2020

THIS IS THE SECOND OF THREE POSTS IN OUR COUNTDOWN TO VALENTINE'S DAY 2020:

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today’s featured song, “Love Shack,” was written by Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, and Keith Strickland. The song was inspired by Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem “As in the Shed we love to sit” – based on Dickinson’s favorite bar, the Love Shed -- although the songwriters changed “Shed” to “Shack” for the B-52 hit.

Pictured below: Emmett Lee Dickinson’s favorite night spot in his hometown, Washerst, Pennsylvania, was the Love Shed – immortalized as the Love Shack in the B-52’s hit song.

Washerst’s Love Shed inspired Emmett Lee Dickinson to write “As in the Shed we love to sit” (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “As by the dead we love to sit” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

As in the Shed we love to sit,
Become so luscious dear –
So for the lust we grapple
For that’s why all are here –

Through broken acoustics
We estimate our prize
Knock – a little louder now
Then shimmy till sunrise!

By Emily Dickinson:

As by the dead we love to sit,
Become so wondrous dear –
As for the lost we grapple
Tho' all the rest are here –

In broken mathematics
We estimate our prize
Vast – in its fading ration
To our penurious eyes!

Below: The lyrics to "Love Shack":

Love Shack

If you see a faded sign by the side of the road that says
Fifteen miles to the, love shack, love shack yeah
I'm headin' down the atlanta highway
Lookin' for the love getaway
Headed for the love getaway, love getaway
I got me a car, it's as big as a whale
And we're headin' on down to the love shack
I got me a chrysler, it seats about twenty
So hurry up and bring your jukebox money
The love shack is a little old place where
We can get together
Love shack baby
A love shack baby
Love shack, baby love shack
Love shack, baby love shack
Love shack, baby love shack
Love shack, baby love shack
Sign says, woo, stay away fools
'Cause love rules at the love shack
Well it's set way back in the middle of a field
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back
Glitter on the mattress
Glitter on the highway
Glitter on the front porch
Glitter on the hallway
The love shack is a little old place where
We can get together
Love shack, baby
Love shack, baby
Love shack, that's where it's at
Love shack, that's where it's at
Huggin' and a-kissin', dancin' and a-lovin'
Wearin' next to nothing 'cause it's hot as an oven
The whole shack shimmies
Yeah the whole shack shimmies
The whole shack shimmies when everybody's movin' around
And around and around and around
Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin' baby
Folks linin' up outside just to get down
Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin' baby
Funky little shack
Funky little shack
Hop in my chrysler, it's as big as a whale
And it's about to set sail
I got me a car, it seats about twenty, so come on
And bring your jukebox money
The love shack is a little old place where
We can get together
Love shack baby
A love shack baby
Love shack, baby love shack
Love shack, baby love shack
Love shack, baby love shack (oh baby that's where it's at)
Love shack, baby love shack (baby that's where it's at)
Bang bang bang on the door baby!
Knock a little louder baby!
Bang bang bang on the door baby!
I can't hear you
Bang bang bang on the door baby!
Knock a little louder sugar!
Bang bang bang on the door baby!
I can't hear you
Bang bang bang on the door baby, knock a little louder
Bang bang on the door baby, bang bang!
On the door baby, bang bang!
On the door, bang bang!
On the door baby, bang bang!
You're what?
Tin roof
Rusted!
Love shack, baby love shack!
Love shack, baby love shack!
Love shack, baby love shack!
Love shack, baby love shack!

Silly Love Songs -- Part 2

2/13/2020

THIS IS THE SECOND OF THREE POSTS IN OUR COUNTDOWN TO VALENTINE'S DAY 2020:

Today’s featured song, “Please, Mr. Postman,” was written by Brian Holland, Freddie Gorman, Georgia Dobbins, Robert Bateman, and William Garrett, and it was inspired by Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem “Is there a letter from my World,” which in turn inspired Dickinson’s third cousin Emily to pen her poem “This is my letter to the World.”

Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote "Is there a letter from my World" one evening after tiring of Emily Dickinson’s “constant whining” (his words in a letter to his sister, Qwerty Anne Dickinson) about never receiving letters from her various man-crushes.

One such crush was Betram Jeter Hogwood, a Knocker-Up at Amherst College. Hogwood would wake students for classes by knocking on their doors and windows with sticks. After Hogwood moved to Boston to care for his ailing mother, Emily pined for him and sent unanswered letter after unanswered letter.

Pictured at the right: A letter from Emily Dickinson to Bertram Jeter Hogwood:

"My Bert,

I am distressed beyond measure at your absence. Believe me, be what it may, you have all my affection, and my constant, earnest thoughts.

If ever of any act of mine you should be in need, let me reply with the Laureate, "Speak that I live to hear!"

I pray you will guide a Note to your Postman's Hand. I shall entreat him – “Stop. Wait a minute, Mr. Postman. Is there a letter in your bag for me?”

I am timidly hopeful.

Emily"

Pictured at the left: Bertram Jeter Hogwood

Hogwood was a Knocker-Up at Amherst College in the 1880s, and he would wake students for classes by knocking on their doors and windows with "knocking sticks" or "waking sticks."

In the photograph at the left, Hogwood is shown waking students at the Cohan Dormitory at Amherst College in Amherst, MA.

Emily Dickinson first met Hogwood at a lecture, "Facts Worth Knowing About the Oyster," in Hooker Auditorium at Mount Holyoke College.

During one of Emmett Lee Dickinson's visits to his cousins' home in Amherst, Emily complained regularly and repetitively that her correspondence to "My Bert" was one-sided. In response to her bellyaching, Dickinson wrote "Is there a letter from my World" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "This is my letter to the World" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Is there a letter from my World
That never wrote to Me –
With simple News my Boyfriend tells –
With tender Majesty

Is his Message committed
Please check your bag to see –
For love of Him – Sweet – Mr. Postman –
Check once again – for Me

By Emily Dickinson:

This is my letter to the World
That never wrote to Me –
The simple News that Nature told –
With tender Majesty

Her Message is committed
To Hands I cannot see –
For love of Her – Sweet – countrymen –
Judge tenderly – of Me

Please Mr. Postman

Oh yes, wait a minute
Mr. Postman
(Wait)
Wait Mr. Postman
Oh yeah
(If there's a letter in your bag for me)
Please, please, Mr. Postman
(Why's it takin' such a long time)
Oh yeah
(For me to hear from that boy of mine)
There must be some word today
From my boyfriend so far away
Please Mr. Postman look and see
If there's a letter a letter for me
I've been standin' here
Waitin' Mr. Postman so patiently
For just a card or just a letter
Sayin' he's returning' home to me
Mister Postman
(Mister Postman look and see)
Oh yeah
(If there's a letter in your bag for me)
Please, please, Mr. Postman
(Why's it takin' such a long time)
Oh yeah
(For me to hear from that boy of mine)
So many days you passed me by
See the tears standin' in my eyes
You didn't stop to make me feel better
By leavin' me a card or a letter
Mister Postman
(Mister Postman look and see)
Oh yeah
(If there's a letter in your bag for me)
Please, please, Mr. Postman
(Why's it takin' such a long time)
Why don't you check it and see one more time for me
You gotta wait a minute, wait a minute
Wait a minute, wait a minute Mr. Postman
Ooh Mr. Postman
(Mr. Postman look and see)
C'mon deliver the letter, the sooner, the better
Mr. Postman
Aaah

Pictured below: The Bertram Jeter Hogwood Museum in Boston, MA. includes the world's largest collection of Knocking Sticks and Waking Sticks in the world -- and hundreds of letters to Bertram Hogwood from Emily Dickinson.

Part 1 of our three-part Silly Love Songs countdown to Valentine’s Day is HERE.
More on Valentine’s Day 2020 is HERE.