Blog Archives - The Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum

Russian To Judgement

3/31/2017

From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III:

I saw this on Twitter (from @JuddLegum)

I didn’t talk to Russia.

I talked to Russia.

I talked to Russia & I resign.

I talked to Russia & will tell all for criminal immunity.

Seems that Michael Flynn – who just last year said that immunity “means you probably committed a crime” – is the first to flip on Trump with Russiagate.

Pictured at the right: Michael Flynn has a story to tell.

Flynn's sudden plea for immunity and his willingness to tell his story reminded me of Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem “Speech is one symptom of Defection” (below on the left). Dickinson’s poem inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem “Speech is one symptom of Affection” (below on the right).

Maybe Dickinson’s poem will inspire Flynn to be a true patriot and come clean with what he knows.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Speech is one symptom of Defection
And Silence one –
The accepted communication
Is heard by all –

Insist on immunity
Is what they say –
Behold, said the Apostate,
You all will know!

By Emily Dickinson:

Speech is one symptom of Affection
And Silence one –
The perfectest communication
Is heard of none –

Exists and its indorsement
Is had within –
Behold, said the Apostle,
Yet had not seen!

Private Parts

3/30/2017

From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) was quite the visionary. As a matter of fact, he is regarded as one of the most visionaryistic thinkers of his or any time (including the epochs and eras that preceded him).

In the late-1800s he wrote a now-class poem about privacy. He understood the need to protect personal privacy from greedy corporations. Dickinson believed that what one thinks, reads, ponders, questions and reviews privately is a personal matter and should not be made available to moneygrubbing enterprises.

It turns out that privacy is so very important to the GOP too. They, without a doubt, support private country clubs and private restrooms. They absolutely demand the protection of privacy surrounding Donald Trump’s taxes. And they draw the line when it comes to internet privacy.

Oh. Wait a minute.

It turns out that they are on the wrong side of that line when it comes to internet privacy. Evidently, due to a vote in congress yesterday, everything we now do and view on the internet is up for sale to the highest bidders.

If only Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem “In one quick vote the House – confirmed” (below on the left) had inspired them to protect the privacy of individuals. Instead, it seems Dickinson’s poem only inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem “To my quick ear the Leaves – conferred” (below on the right).

Hopefully, the members of congress will read more of Dickinson’s poems in the future.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

In one quick vote the House – confirmed –
My Searches – were for Sale –
I could not keep my Privacy
For Business needs prevail –

Even if I presume to hide
The Links – begin to tell –
Connection to the sites Attack –
To make me visible –

By Emily Dickinson:

To my quick ear the Leaves – conferred –
The Bushes – they were Bells –
I could not find a Privacy
From Nature's sentinels –

In Cave if I presumed to hide
The Walls – begun to tell –
Creation seemed a mighty Crack –
To make me visible –

A Fly on the Wall

3/27/2017

From our 19th century historian Eudora Dickinson:

Strange. The GOP voted for years to repeal the ACA. They voted over 50 times to revoke the law. They wasted time, money, energy and effort in wasted attempts to rescind Obamacare. Trump put the repeal of the ACA front and center in his campaign.

Then, with control of the White House, the House and the Senate, the GOP spent just days throwing together a piece-meal (and very mean spirited) replacement – which Trump didn’t even read – and ultimately there was no vote. They pulled the bill when they realized they didn’t have the votes.

Say Whaaaa???? They spend seven-plus years trying to dismantle the ACA, and then without a vote, they decide to move on to other things.

Oddly enough, in the late 1800s, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third-cousin, twice removed – at her request) wrote a poem that seemed to predict the entire debacle. An early version of the poem was one of third cousin Emily’s inspirations to write “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died.”

Dickinson’s poem, “I heard the News buzz – when the ACHA died,” is below on the left. Emily’s poem, “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died,” is on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

I heard the News buzz – when the ACHA died –
The Stillness in the White House
Was like the Silence in the Air –
Of a Separated Spouse –

The “Ayes” around – had all run dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Was witnessed – in the Room –

They’d killed their Party – Signed away
What portion of their dignity
That they had left – and then it was
There interposed this News –

With Red – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
Between the GOP – and voters –
And then the Legislation failed – and then
They moved on to tax reform –

By Emily Dickinson:

I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm –

The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Be witnessed – in the Room –

I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable – and then it was
There interposed a Fly –

With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
Between the light – and me –
And then the Windows failed – and then
I could not see to see –

Make America Golf Again

3/26/2017

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

In a recent event that has not made the headlines for some reason, President Trump signed an Executive Order to turn Washington DC’s National Mall into a private golf club for GOP donors. It seems that Trump, the very man who hounded his predecessor for playing “too much golf,” now admits that he’s addicted to the game. Since January 20th, he’s spent 286 more hours on the golf course than he has on the job.

“Look,” he said after his humiliating health care defeat, “I work very hard. I devoted hours, many hours, many hard-working hours to repealing and replacing Obamacare, so now I need time for a different type of R and R – and golfing for me is different than Obama’s golfing. The golf course is where I think my thoughts, and I have a lot of them, I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of really terrific thoughts – so many thoughts that you’d wonder how I have so many thoughts, but I have ‘em – and then you’d know that I really need the time to golf so that I can think all of those thoughts.”

He had his staff applaud him after he made that statement.

Below: The initial plans for Trump's National Golf Club, to be open only to big-time GOP donors.

Initial plans for the Mall course have been nixed because Trump wants to change the location of the 18th hole.

“That really should be on the White House lawn,” he said. “And we’re changing the name of the White House too,” he added. “Now it will be called the ‘White Club House,’ and the Oval Office will be the 19th hole.”

Again, he signaled his staff to applaud.

Below: A past Trump tweet about Obama's golf trips. Trump now says that his golfing is different from Obama's golfing.

Of course, the amount of tax dollars going to Trump’s golf outings (and his off-springs’ skiing vacations and overseas “business” trips) is staggering, and it reminded me of Emmett Lee Dickinson’s now-classic poem “Our World’s made penniless by his departure” (below on the left). Dickinson’s poem inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem “A World made penniless by that departure” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Our World’s made penniless by his departure
To sites where palm trees sway
His sustenance is of the spirit
To Golf all Day –

By Emily Dickinson:

A World made penniless by that departure
Of minor fabrics begs
But sustenance is of the spirit
The Gods but Dregs –

Below: An early report of Trump's golf outings. The numbers for Trump are higher now.

Right: Past tweets reveal that hypocrisy is par for the course for Trump (click to enlarge).

Below: Oops! The press pool was told that Trump was "hard at work" -- but someone's Instagram photo said otherwise!

Below left: Hee hee! Fox news reported that Trump was "spending weekend working at the White House." He wasn't. He was golfing. Below right: On the campaign trail, Trump said he just wanted to stay in the White House and "work my ass off." Fortunately, when he said that, he was wearing Trump-brand fire-retardant pants.

Dickinson's Shot

3/25/2017

From our entertainment editor, Qwerty Lee Dickinson:

In a recent interview in GQ magazine, Lin-Manuel Miranda confirmed what many in the world of poetry already know, that the inspiration for “Hamilton: An American Musical” was the life and work of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request).

Miranda fell in love with Dickinson’s poetry when he attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Washington Heights in New York City.

Pictured at the left: GQ Magazine featured an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Pictured below: The Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Washington Heights.

“Dickinson’s poetry changed my life,” Miranda told GQ, ”and Dickinson’s life, like the history of America itself, is a story of ingenuity, sacrifice, and hard work.”

At first, Miranda’s mega-hit “Hamilton” was to be called “Dickinson,” and it was a straight-forward retelling of his life; however, that all changed after he saw a TV ad for Golden Chick fried chicken in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

“The ad had a colonial theme, and two Minute-men were eating chicken,” said Miranda. “It was then and there that the power of story and metaphor hit me, and I realized that I could tell the story of Dickinson through an account of Alexander Hamilton.”

Pictured below: A colonial-themed TV commercial for Golden Chick changed the direction for "Dickinson: An American Musical."

He said that he remembered one of his favorite poems by Dickinson, “I wish I knew that poet’s name,” and that inspired him to write “Hamilton’s” opening song, “Alexander Hamilton.”

“Once I set the story in colonial America,” confessed Miranda, “the words just started flowing. Everything worked.”

Below on the left: Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "I wish I knew that poet's name." Below on the right: Besides inspiring the opening song to "Hamilton," Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily Dickinson to pen her poem "I wish I knew that woman's name."

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

I wish I knew that poet's name
So when he goes his way,
I'll pause my life, and hold my ears,
In hope I hear him say

The world's gonna know your name.
     What’s your name, man?”

Emmett Lee Dickinson
My name is Emmett Lee Dickinson
And there’re a million poems I haven’t
   written
But just you wait, just you wait –

I'm "sorry, pardon me," again,
With just myself to blame
I'll sob myself almost to sleep --
If I don't learn his name.

The world's gonna know your name.
     What’s your name, man?”

Emmett Lee Dickinson
My name is Emmett Lee Dickinson
And there’re a million poems I haven’t
   written
But just you wait, just you wait –

By Emily Dickinson:

I wish I knew that woman’s name,
So, when she comes this way,
To hold my life, and hold my ears,
For fear I hear her say

She’s “sorry I am dead”, again,
Just when the grave and I
Have sobbed ourselves almost to sleep –
Our only lullaby.

Below: Before "Hamilton" was "Hamilton," Miranda's "American Musical" was called "Dickinson."

"Alexander Hamilton was the perfect stage representation for Emmett Lee Dickinson," said Miranda. "Dickinson was just another immigrant comin’ up from the bottom. Word got around, and people said, ‘This kid’s insane, man,’ and his enemies destroyed his rep. America forgot him.”

“Well,” grinned Miranda, “’Hamilton’ will change all that.”

To read about connections between Emmett Lee Dickinson and other Broadway shows,
click HERE and HERE.

It's a Doggy Dog World

3/23/2017

From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III:

Today is National Puppy Day, and we are reminded of the love of Emily Dickinson and her dog Carlo, and her third cousin's Emmett Lee Dickinson's love for his faithful companion, Monte.

The preserved carcass of Monte was on display for years at the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard in historic Washerst, PA), until the devastating New Year's Eve fire burned it down as 2015 turned to 2016. Information about the fire is HERE.

Alas, the flea-ridden remains perished in the fire. All that is left of Monte now is the digital copy of the only photograph of Dickinson's beloved companion (below).

When Monte was just a pup, Dickinson composed a touching two-line poem about him entitled "My loving dog embarrasses me" (below on the left). Third cousin Emily was so moved by the lines, she compose a similar poem which opens "The lovely flowers embarrass me" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

My loving dog embarrasses me,
He hugs my leg in front of Company –

By Emily Dickinson:

The lovely flowers embarrass me,
They make me regret I am not a Bee –

Going, Going, Gong!

3/22/2017

From our entertainment editor Qwerty Lee Dickinson:

Twitter tweeps have been RIP-ing Chuck Barris on the Internets today. Barris, a game show creator and producer of TV game shows, was best known as the host of “The Gong Show.” Barris died yesterday at the age of 87.

Similarly, other tweeps have been lamenting the end of a popular podcast, “Missing Richard Simmons.” In the six-episode podcast, filmmaker Dan Taberski investigated the disappearance of fitness-guru Richard Simmons. The podcast concluded yesterday.

Both of these notable events – the passing of Chuck Barris and the production of “Missing Richard Simmons” – have connections to America’s greatest poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request).

First, Barris’ “The Gong Show” often featured a stand-up comedian with a paper bag over his head known as “the Unknown Comic.” “The Unknown Comic” was the stage name adopted by Canadian actor Murray Langston.

Langston, who attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, got the idea after he’d learned of a comedy act performed by Emmett Lee Dickinson in the mid-1800s.

Prior to Dickinson’s comedy work with Edgar Allan Poe in the slapstick duo known as “Izzy Sharp and Moe,” Dickinson worked a solo comedy routine as “the Unknown Poet.” As “the Unknown Poet,” Dickinson read bawdy limericks and vulgar verse at various comedy shows around the country. Most often he appeared in a vaudeville comedy revue called “The Gang Show” in Baltimore, Maryland.

Below: TV game show creator Chuck Barris.

Below: Frequent Gong Show guest the Unknown Comic

Below: The Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where Murray Langston --
a.k.a. the Unknown Comic -- attended school.

Right: A photograph thought to be Emmett Lee Dickinson appearing as "the Unknown Poet" in the vaudeville comedy revue "The Gang Show."

Second, in the late-1800s, Emmett Lee Dickinson created what was then called a “pad-cast,” a written discourse on pads of paper that were then circulated around the country for entertainment. The pad-cast was called “Missing Simon Richards,” and it focused on the disappearance of a well-known fitness counselor by the name of Simon Richards.

Below: Dr. Simon Richards, a fitness counselor who mysteriously disappeared in the late-1800s.

Below: A rare copy of the first pad-cast ever written, "Missing Simon Richards," by Emmett Lee Dickinson.

Besides writing the pad-cast about the disappearance of Simon Richards, Dickinson also wrote a poem about the fitness counselor's disappearance called "The odd old man is gone a year" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "The odd old man is dead of year" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

That odd old man is gone a year –
We miss his curly Hair.
Through such a podcast’s charm and camp
We hope his place we’ll hear.

We miss his celebrated Shorts –
Have any heard from him?
We wait to soon anticipate
His wrinkled coming Home.

His Life, begun in fluent Sweat
And antiquated song!
Achievement from deflating thighs –
Now transient and gone.

By Emily Dickinson:

That odd old man is dead a year –
We miss his stated Hat.
'Twas such an evening bright and stiff
His faded lamp went out.

Who miss his antiquated Wick –
Are any hoar for him?
Waits any indurated mate
His wrinkled coming Home?

Oh Life, begun in fluent Blood
And consummated dull!
Achievement contemplating thee –
Feels transitive and cool.

In Just --

3/20/2017

From Jim Asher, the world’s leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Spring.

It’s finally Spring, that time of year deemed by Emmett Lee Dickinson as “March mudness” and E. E. Cummings as “mud luscious.”

Spring is also the name of The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society, and the most recent issue – Fall 2015 (which covers 2015 and 2016) – was actually published at the end of 2016. If you don’t have a copy, be sure to contact the Cummings Society to see if they had additional copies – it’s wonderful!

Some highlights:

There are multiple articles in honor of Norman Friedman, “the first and finest Cummings scholar, and (with David V. Forrest and Richard S. Kennedy) the founder of Spring and The E. E. Cummings Society.” Info HERE.

An analysis of Cummings “l(a,” one of my all-time favorite poems and one I use often to excite students about poetry. The article, “Falling into Spring: Transcendence, Being, and Ambivalent Typography in ‘l(a’ and 95 Poems,” revealed aspects of the poems I had not been aware of. Fascinating!

And on pages 145 and 146 of the 294-page journal, there are even a few take-offs of Cummings’ poetry which I submitted – one, “the darkside is fine)but Darth,” is below on the right. The Cummings’ poem on which it is based, “dying is fine)but Death,” is below on the left.

By E. E. Cummings:

dying is fine)but Death

?o
baby
i

wouldn't like

Death if Death
were
good:for

when(instead of stopping to think)you

begin to feel of it,dying
's miraculous
why?be

cause dying is

perfectly natural;perfectly
putting
it mildly lively(but

Death

is strictly
scientific
& artificial &

evil & legal)

we thank thee
god
almighty for dying
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death

By Jim Asher:

the darkside is fine)but Darth

?o
bi wan kanob
i

wouldn’t like

Darth if Darth
were
decent:for

then(instead of slaughtering the Clones)you

begin to feel the force
’s phenomenal
why?be

cause the darkside is

entirely natural;entirely
putting
it predictably deadly(but

Darth

is severely
volatile
& explosive &

evil & cruel)

we thank the
force
ubiquitous for the darkside
(forgive us,o Luke! the son of Darth

For more information about Spring, the Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society, click HERE.

May the Beer of the Irish Be with You!

3/17/2017

From our food editor Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

Happy St. Patrick's Day, the day when everyone is Irish! Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was known to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a beer in each hand, and he'd wish fellow merrymakers a variant of a well-known proverb: "May the beer of the Irish be with you!"

Today, may the luck -- and the beer -- of the Irish be with you -- and may you enjoy Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "To make me Irish it takes a shamrock and one beer" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

To make me Irish it takes a shamrock
and one beer,
One shamrock, and more beer,
And revelry.
The revelry alone will do,
With a few beers.

By Emily Dickinson:

To make a prairie it takes a clover
and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.

"TrumpCare" = "Don't Care"

3/14/2017

From our current events editor Lemuel Stuart III:

What do Stepehn Colbert, Emily Dickinson, and "TrumpCare" have in common? The answer:

Yep, the GOP is attempting to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, and their laughable (and sad) first attempts at "coverage" will hurt millions of those who voted for Trump and didn't realize that "Obamare" and the ACA were the same thing -- even though Trump promised "insurance for everybody" (by the way, Trump has now changed that empty promise to "everyone will have access to healthcare").

This rush to repeal and ravage healthcare for those who really need it (while at the same time lining the pockets of the wealthy) calls to mind Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "As they do Healthcare over" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "As one does Sickness over" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

As They do Healthcare over
With untransparent Mind,
Their scarcity of Choices
Of Healthcare plans obscured –

As They rework the Pricing Plans
And whittle at the Care
They tell Us that Provisions
Will for everyone be Fair

But Coverage for each Soul
And those suffering
Is likely to be questioned
For proof of evidence –

By Emily Dickinson:

As One does Sickness over
In convalescent Mind,
His scrutiny of Chances
By blessed Health obscured –

As One rewalks a Precipice
And whittles at the Twig
That held Him from Perdition
Sown sidewise in the Crag

A Custom of the Soul
Far after suffering
Identity to question
For evidence't has been –