Blog Archives - The Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum

Trump Presidential Lie-brary

6/30/2017

From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III:

The architectural firm of Swindler, Sham and Huckster has been hired by Donald Trump to build several massive presidential "Lie-braries." The first Lie-brary will be combined with a Center for Russian Studies, and it will be located in Calumny, Kentucky.

"Trump is telling lies at such an incredible rate," said project manager Anthony "Tony Scars" Santorelli, "we had to get rolling with the plans immediately."

"We need to start pouring the cement, if ya know what I mean," he laughed. "We need to start pouring the cement."

According to Santorelli, at the rate Trump is telling lies, every state in the union will be home to a Trump Presidential Lie-brary.

Pictured below: The first Donald J. Trump Presidential Lie-brary & Center for Russian Studies to be located in Calumny, Kentucky. Project Manager Anthony "Tony Scars" Santoelli said that the building will be "massive," the largest building in North America.

For a catalog of Trump's lies to 6/23/17, click HERE.

How Low Can He Go?

6/30/2017

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

Every time the bar is lowered with respect to decency, dignity and decorum, I think that Donald Trump can go no lower. However, he surprises me every time. How low can this man go? There seems to be no limit.

I'm sure by now you've seen yesterday's tweets about Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

I'm sure by now you've also heard the White House staff's attempts to justify Trump’s disturbing behavior: “This is who America elected and we knew what we were getting”; “Trump fights fire with fire”; “You have to remember, he's new to this job.”

Disgusting. Despicable. Disturbing.

From the New York Daily News (click HERE):

From the Washington Post (click HERE):

The reactions on “Morning Joe” this morning were spot on and appropriate. The man is unfit to be president.

Trump is a fake president. I cannot believe that even Trump voters wanted this in the Oval Office. (On a separate note, I wonder how Melania's anti-cyber-bullying campaign is going?)

There is a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson from the late 1800s that accurately captures all of this. The poem is called “The Man keeps stooping – stooping – low!”

I'm not sure about whom Dickinson was writing, but the poem accurately depicts Trump’s despicable demeanor and the events and responses from yesterday's headlines.

Dickinson’s poem (below on the left) later inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “The Sun kept stooping – stooping – low!” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Man keeps stooping – stooping – low!
The Press to meet him rose!
On his side, what Infraction!
On their side, must Oppose!

Deeper and deeper grows the stain
Upon our character –
Quicker and quicker come the tweets
Revealing demeanor

That's clouded dense with Venom –
So dark, so Outrageous –
That I felt anger stirring
For this Hollow soul –

Check in the Oval Office –
For Nobody is there!

By Emily Dickinson:

The Sun kept stooping – stooping – low!
The Hills to meet him rose!
On his side, what Transaction!
On their side, what Repose!

Deeper and deeper grew the stain
Upon the window pane –
Thicker and thicker stood the feet
Until the Tyrian

Was crowded dense with Armies –
So gay, so Brigadier –
That I felt martial stirrings
Who once the Cockade wore –

Charged from my chimney corner --
But Nobody was there!

Because You Can Stop For Death!

6/28/2017

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

Donald Trump surprised the press today by announcing that he'd have a big surprise announcement soon about healthcare. Seems that the great deal maker can't make any sort of deal, so he's busy behind the scenes giving away the store trying to salvage any sort of deal with the GOP.

What could his big announcement be?

Well there's no need to wait any longer. We have the scoop on what Trump's big surprise is: he, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan plan to open a chain of affordable funeral parlors around the country. Can't afford healthcare? Trump, McConnell and Ryan Funeral Homes will offer funerals at very affordable rates.

Is it possible that Emmett Lee Dickinson's now-classic poem "Upon Concluded Lives" (below on the left) inspired the three of them to establish this chain of funeral parlors? We're not sure. However, the poem did inspire third cousin Emily to pen her poem with the same opening line (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Upon Concluded Lives
There’s nothing cooler calls –
Than Profit’s Calculations –
When mixing Bells and Palls –

Make Elegiac Tunes –
That’s music to my Ears –
‘Tis Lucrative – these Funerals –
Collecting – on the Tears –

By Emily Dickinson:

Upon Concluded Lives
There's nothing cooler falls –
Than Life's sweet Calculations –
The mixing Bells and Palls –

Make Lacerating Tune –
To Ears the Dying Side –
'Tis Coronal – and Funeral –
Saluting – in the Road –

Below: An advertisement for Trump, McConnell, and Ryan Funeral Homes,
soon to offer affordable funerals in all fifty-states.

Tears of Joy

6/22/2017

From our food editor Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

June 22 is an important date when it comes to the common onion (also known as the bulb onion), for on this date two important milestones occurred.

First, on June 22, 1852, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) invented a delicious onion soup (a recipe for which the French later took credit).

Prior to this date onions were known as "devil spheres," and they were used sparingly if it all. People would wear garlands of onions to ward off common maladies such as sluggishness, biliousness, and the lure of unattractive suitors. However, Dickinson's soup became so popular that by 1857, June 22 was named "Day of the Onion."

A few years later, on June 22 1863, Emily Dickinson's sister Lavinia invented onion rings. Originally called "devil loops," a New York Times food editor dubbed them "onion ringlets," and the name was later shortened to onion rings. In a matter of just a few months, the popularity of Lavinia's concoction eclipsed that of Emmett's soup recipe, and by 1881 the "Day of the Onion" was changed to "National Onion Ring Day."

Pictured at the right: A letter from Emily Dickinson to Emmett Lee Dickinson about Lavinia's new culinary delight (click the image to enlarge). The letter reads as follows:

"Dearest Emmett,

A new recipe is always a chance, but a fried concoction by Lavinia -- which she calls devil loops -- resulted charmingly. They are as delicious as they are mysterious, though, for she protects the recipe like a druggist's formula.

Emily"

Before June 22 was changed to "National Onion Ring Day," Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote about the "Day of the Onion" in his now-classic poem "Some Days are better than the rest" (below on the left). We don't know if Dickinson's poem inspired Lavinia Dickinson to create onion rings, but the work did inspire Emily Dickinson to pen her poem with the same first line (below on the left).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Some Days are better than the rest
In some distinction lie
Like when Day of the Onion comes
And you're obliged to cry

By Emily Dickinson:

Some Days retired from the rest
In soft distinction lie
The Day that a Companion came
Or was obliged to die

Below: Lavinia Dickinson's recipe for "devil loops" (aka "onion rings").

An Emoji to the Wise

6/17/2017

The word "trump" -- and/or the name "Trump" -- was recently selected by the Oxford University Press as the Children's Word of the Year.

We're not making this up. Check out the article on the right (click the image to enlarge), and read the rest of the article HERE.

Of course, part of the reason for the win can be attributed to the fact that "trump" in British English means "fart" (that definition has only been recently added to the American lexicon for "Trump").

Another controversial Word of the Year (WotY) choice was when the Oxford University Press chose the "tears of joy" emoji as its WotY in 2015.

Of course that selection can be traced back to the invention of the emoji by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). He first wrote about emojis in his now-classic poem "Emojis exist" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her peom "A word is dead" (below on the right).

By Emily Dickinson:

A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

A Stall Down Memory Lane

6/14/2017

From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III:

Did you know that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions once auditioned for the TV game show "To Tell the Truth"? He didn't actually make it onto the show as a contestant, though, because he was incapable of actually telling the truth.

Sessions' faulty memory, his past lies under oath, and his most recent stories called to mind Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "'I forget' -- and i -- 'don't remember'" (below on the left). Perhaps it was Dickinson's poem that inspired Sessions to hinder, hedge and hamper the proceedings. We may never know. We are sure, though, that Dickinson's poem did inspire his third cousin Emily to pen her poem "He forgot -- and I -- remembered" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

“I forget” – and I – “don’t remember” –
‘Twas a very rushed affair –
Long ago was Jeff and Sergey
“Met him?” at the “Mayflower?”

“I was with him?” – quoth the AG.
“No” – said Sessions, “‘twasn’t me” –
“I just merely ‘looked’ at Sergey” –
“Any more queries – for Me?”

By Emily Dickinson:

He forgot – and I – remembered –
'Twas an everyday affair –
Long ago as Christ and Peter –
"Warmed them" at the "Temple fire."

"Thou wert with him" – quoth "the Damsel"?
"No" – said Peter, 'twasn't me –
Jesus merely "looked" at Peter –
Could I do aught else – to Thee?

Below left and right: Just a few of the tweets about Sessions' faulty memory:

Sickeningly Sweet

6/13/2017

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

Did you see that Trump cabinet meeting yesterday? How sickeningly sweet and bizarre was that? There were grown adults fawning over the President as if they were school girls and he a teen-age idol.

Truth be told, Trump is just a lap dog. He sooo wants to be loved. He just wants someone to pat him on the head and affirm that he's a good boy!

This bizarre love-fest called to mind Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "They went to thank him" (below on the left). We don't know if it were Dickinson's poem that inspired Trump to demand all of the false praise -- but we do know that the peom inspired Dickinson's third cousin Emily to pen her work "I went to thank her" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

They went to thank Him –
Then they Wept –
His Head – a costumed Stone –
With Laurels at his Crown and Feet –
That Sycophants – had thrown –

They went to thank Him –
Then they Wept –
'Twas Long – they babbled on –
I looked upon Them with – alarm –
They'd crossed – the Rubicon –

By Emily Dickinson:

I went to thank Her –
But she Slept –
Her Bed – a funneled Stone –
With Nosegays at the Head and Foot –
That Travellers – had thrown –

Who went to thank Her –
But She Slept –
'Twas Short – to cross the Sea –
To look upon Her like – alive –
But turning back – 'twas slow –

Dickinson's "Dailyfussin"

6/12/2017

From our 19th century historian Eudora Dickinson:

In a letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Emily Dickinson wrote, “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know it. Is there any other way?”

Dickinson knew of the Dutch concept knows as dâhliefūsöhn, or “dailyfussin” in English (pronounced “daily-fussin”), a term used to describe the discussions and debates among poets.

In medieval times, poets, versifiers, and rhymesters would gather each day in taverns and inns across Europe to share their odes, songs, and sonnets, raise more than a pint or two or ale, and discuss the concepts of life, death, love, truth, and poetry. Because the poets would often come to blows in these lively summits and/or because the discords, disputes and dissents might lead those in attendance to feel “as if the top of my head were taken off,” these clashes and encounters became known as dâhliefūsöhn, or “daily-fussin” in English.

Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote about the concept of dâhliefūsöhn in his now-classic poem "To rile like Thunder to the close" (below on the left). His poem inspired third-cousin Emily to pen her poem "To pile like Thunder to its close" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

To rile like Thunder to the close
Then grumble grand as sin
While Everything is fiercely said
This – is Dailyfussin

On Love – the daily combats come –
We both and neither prove –
We order up more pints to consume –
For None agree on Truth –

By Emily Dickinson:

To pile like Thunder to its close
Then crumble grand away
While Everything created hid
This – would be Poetry –

Or Love – the two coeval come –
We both and neither prove –
Experience either and consume –
For None see God and live –

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request), introduced the concept of dâhliefūsöhn to his third cousin, and the two would often squabble and fuss about complex or awkward rhythms, problematic rhymes, unconventional punctuation, and of course, provocative or unconventional themes.

Later Emmett Lee Dickinson conceived the idea of hosting a commune for poets in the hills of western Pennsylvania near his home in Washerst, and he built an estate which he named “Dailyfussin” where as many as fifty to sixty apprentice poets would gather to study under the poet.

The magnificent building and grounds of Dailyfussin – along with Dickinson’s concept of a progressive educational institution for aspiring poets – later inspired Frank Lloyd Wright to construct his own estate which he named Taliesin.

In 1913, Dailyfussin was recognized as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) District by the National Park Service.

Pictured below: Emmett Lee Dickinson's estate and commune for poets, Dailyfussin:

For more information on Emmett Lee Dickinson's influence on Frank Lloyd Wright (and too see pictures of Wright's masterpieces Standingwater, the Robbie House, and Tallyho East) click HERE.

At the Corner of Broadway & Dickinson -- Part 2

6/11/2017

From our entertainment editor Qwerty Lee Dickinson:

We have written extensively about the connection of Broadway to Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). Some of our coverage is HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Another 2017 Tony Award nominee with a direct link to Emmett Lee Dickinson is "The Play That Goes Wrong," nominated for best set.

In "The Play That Goes Wrong," the fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society performs "The Murder at Haversham Manor" – a 1920s murder mystery similar to Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap." During the play-within-a-play, a plethora of disasters befall the cast including doors sticking, props on the walls falling down, floors collapsing, and more.

The play "The Play That Goes Wrong" was inspired by an earlier play called "The Poem That Goes Wrong," a comedy based on an early edition of poetry by Emmett Lee Dickinson called "The Poem That Goes Wrong." The first poem in that tome, "Discomfort in my Writing Room" (below on the left) is about a poet with writer's block. Dickinson's poem also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "'Twas comfort in her Dying Room" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Discomfort in my Writing Room
When I have writer’s Block –
With no relief to have ideas
Walk boldly up and knock –
Immersion in a Dying Theme
When nothing seems to work –
I’ll wrong the poem
So words can live
Though this of mine must die.

By Emily Dickinson:

'Twas comfort in her Dying Room
To hear the living Clock --
A short relief to have the wind
Walk boldly up and knock --
Diversion from the Dying Theme
To hear the children play --
But wrong the more
That these could live
And this of ours must die.

Below: A first edition of Emmett Lee Dickinson's poetry collection called "The Poem That Goes Wrong."

At the Corner of Broadway & Dickinson -- Part 1

6/11/2017

From our entertainment editor Qwerty Lee Dickinson:

Were it not for Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), there would be no Broadway. Almost every theatre, every play, every actor and every director and producer has some connection to the poet. We have written about the Broadway-Dickinson connection extensively, and some of our coverage is HERE and HERE.

Tonight, the Tony Awards are on, and once again, every nominated play has some connection to America's greatest poet.

1. "Hello Dolly" (nominated for best revival) is based on an earlier play called "Hello Em'ly" about one of Emily Dickinson's trips to Washerst, PA, to visit her third cousin, Emmett Lee.

2. "Dear Evan Hansen" (nominated for best musical) was inspired by an earlier hit called "Dear Emmett Lee," a play about Dckinson's battle in later life with a social anxiety disorder.

3. The producer of "Come From Away" (nominated for best musical) got the idea for the musical after seeing "Go Far Away," a musical based on the volatile relationship between Emmett Lee Dickinson and his third cousin Emily (who twice requested that he be removed).

4. "Groundhog Day" (another nominee for musical) is based on Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "That it will always come again." We wrote about the poem and the musical HERE.

5. "The Great Comet of 1812" (nominated for best musical) is based on a play called "The Great Poet of 1821," a musical about the publication of Dickinson's first book of poetry.

6. The idea for "A Doll's House, Part 2" (nominated for best play) came to Lucas Hnath after he saw "A Poet's House, Part 2," Henrik Ibsen's play about Emmett Lee Dickinson and the sequel to his "A Doll's House."

7. "Sweat" (nominated for best play) was inspired by "Sweet," a play about the sweat-shop at the Dickinson Candy Corn Factory where Emmett Lee Dickinson manufactured his world-famous culinary creation, candy corn.

8. "Oslo" (nominated for best play) was inspired by an earlier play called "Also," a work that focused on the fact that there was and has always been another Dickinson -- there's Emily Dickinson...and "also" Emmett Lee Dickinson."