Blog Archives

The Great White Way

7/23/2018

From our entertainment editor Qwerty Lee Dickinson:

In honor of Shark Week, @GrammarGirl has tweeted out an article that explores six “funky phrases about sharks” – including “jump the shark” and “land shark” – all of which share their origins from television (HERE). Once additional phrase, “the great white way,” comes from Broadway from the 1870s.

In 1873, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) caught the world’s largest great white shark off the coast of Wollongong, Australia. Dickinson was always fascinated with sharks, so he readily agreed to visit the "land down under" with Walt Whitman’s brother, Wink, for some deep-sea fishing. On their third excursion on the Fair Dinkum, a deep-sea fishing vessel, Dickinson landed a 30-foot, 4500-pound great white shark.

Pictured at the right: The 1873 edition of the Wollongong Gazette from Wollongong, Australia, which announced Emmett Lee Dickinson's catch of the world's largest shark in a front page article.

Dickinson then brought the carcass of the great fish to Broadway for all the public to see in a show at the Winter Garden Theatre called “The Great White Way.” The spectacle broke all attendance records, and it got to the point where people wouldn’t say, “I’m going to Broadway to see a show”; instead, they would just say, “I’m going to The Great White Way,” a phrase that is still used today.

The show lasted only a week, though, because the offensive odor of the great, rotting fish began to permeate the theatre as well as buildings up and down significant portions of Broadway. However, that one week show from 1873 was the inspiration of “Shark Week” on TV. Created by Tom Golden at the Discovery Channel, “Shark Week” premiered in 1988.

Golden, who had attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Ashtabula, Ohio, read about Dickinson’s Broadway show, “The Great White Way,” and was inspired to create a modern-day week-long tribute to sharks. Golden also said he was inspired to create the shark-themed week by one of his favorite poems by Dickinson, “Through the great Waters deep” (below on the left). Dickinson’s poem also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “Though the great Waters sleep” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dicknson:

Through the great Waters deep
For this is still the Week
We cannot doubt –
No self-respecting Shark
Will ever miss his mark
Day in, day out –

By Emily Dickinson:

Though the great Waters sleep,
That they are still the Deep,
We cannot doubt –
No vacillating God
Ignited this Abode
To put it out –

Other poems about sharks are HERE.

Reign The Swamp

7/22/2018

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

With Donald Trump, the Swamp King, the swamp just keeps getting swampier and swampier and swampier.

Seriously, can anyone even count how many scandals Trump is involved with?

I’m surprised, though, that a particularly dreadful story of one of the latest Swamp Monsters to emerge, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, has gotten lost in all of the recent muck: just as Kennedy announced his retirement, it came to light that Kennedy's son gave a billion dollar loan to Trump when no one else would give him a dime. Now Trump has nominated a replacement for Kennedy who believes that the president has the power to pardon himself -- and if such an absurd case were to make it to the Supreme Court, he would support Trump’s ludicrous logic.

This nauseating story called to mind a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem called "So baffled when I learned it" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "So bashful when I spied her" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

So baffled when I learned it!
So outraged – so alarmed!
So hidden in his secrets
Lest anybody find –

So breathless when the press broke –
So hopeless when I turned
And bore on, wondering, fuming,
His simple haunts beyond!

From whom he borrowed Billions –
From whom he tapped the Well –
Many will doubtless ask him,
But he will never tell!

By Emily Dickinson:

So bashful when I spied her!
So pretty – so ashamed!
So hidden in her leaflets
Lest anybody find –

So breathless till I passed her –
So helpless when I turned
And bore her, struggling, blushing,
Her simple haunts beyond!

For whom I robbed the Dingle –
For whom betrayed the Dell –
Many will doubtless ask me,
But I shall never tell!

Jabber-talky

7/20/2018

From our senior book reviewer Philo Remington:

Dover Thrift Editions announced this week that it will soon publish a long lost book of Lewis Carroll's, Donald In The Motherland, and we have been given permission to publish an exclusive excerpt from the book:

“When I use a word,” Humpty-Trumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”

“And the fact of the matter is,” said Sarah, “that I can make words mean so many different things.”

The Vlad Hatter grinned.

“I have created a world of my own,” he said, “where everything is nonsense. Nothing is what it is, because everything is what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what wouldn’t be, would be. And what would be, it wouldn’t. You see?”

“It all adds up,” sighed Mitch Turtle, “and I am very calculating with all the branches of the Government with practiced use of Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.”

In an introduction to the book written by Carroll himself, the author said that he was inspired to write the story after reading a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) -- and the poem, "'No' matters when the Aide has lied" (below on the left), even fits the headlines from this week: During a meeting of his Cabinet on Wednesday, Trump was asked by a reporter whether Russia is still targeting the United States. "No," said the president. Later, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed that Trump was merely saying "no" to more questions, and not answering the specific question about Russia – even though the pool reporter had reworded the same question, and Trump again answered, "No.”

Remember back in the good old days when Bill Clinton speculated about "what the meaning of is, is"? Well, this week Trump trumped Clinton's play on words because "would" became "wouldn't," "no meddling" became "no, meddling," and (via Rudy Giuliani), "incriminating" became "exculpatory."

Much like the character's in Lewis Carroll's book, we are definitely down the кролик hole.

Besides inspiring Carroll to write his book, Dickinson's poem inspired Emily Dickinson to pen her poem "No matter where the Saints abide" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

“No” matters when the
Aide has lied
She morphs the Word with flair
Behold her great Impertinence
Accompanied with Stare

By Emily Dickinson:

No matter where the
Saints abide,
They make their Circuit fair
Behold how great a Firmament
Accompanies a Star.

Man Bites Dog

7/18/2018

From our food editor Verla Burrell-Bordelon:

If you come across the headline "Man Bites Dog" today, don't be alarmed -- it's National Hot Dog Day!

Emmett Lee Dickinson, the inventor of the hot dog, used to say, "I love hotdogs, and I eat them with relish!" But it was Lavinia Dicknson, Emily's sister and Emmett Lee's third cousin, who suggested topping a dog off with chili.

Emmett Lee Dickinson fell in love with Lavinia's concoction, the chili dog, from the time he took his first bite, and later he dedicated his poem "I do not crave -- why should I crave" (below on the left) to Lavinia. His poem also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "I do not care -- why should I care" (below on the right).

More poems for National Hot Dog Day are HERE and HERE.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

I do not crave – why should I crave
And yet I fear I’m craving
A meal upsetting to my form –
Filled with impurity
The terror it will make
Heartburn more like perdition
That makes it hard to face
The frank and chili dog –

By Emily Dickinson:

I do not care – why should I care
And yet I fear I’m caring
To rock a fretting truth to sleep –
Is short security
The terror it will wake
Persistent as perdition
Is harder than to face
The frank adversity –

Can't See The "Wouldn't" For The "Treason"

7/17/2018

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie"Dawe:

Yesterday I wrote about Donald Trump's despicable performance on the world stage in Helsinki. That post is HERE.

Today, some of Trump's handlers convinced him that he had to walk-back his treasonous comments, so Trump clumsily read a statement someone else wrote for him attempting to clean up his mess. He blamed the scandal on his accidental omission of the contraction "wouldn't."

It was pure song and dance (meant to dupe, once again, the poorly educated).

Today's klutzy and spurious spectacle reminded me once again of a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson.

In the late 1800s, Dickinson wrote a series of poems about a mystery person named "Donald." I wrote about one of the poems, "Traveling to London, looking forward," last Friday, HERE. Another of Dickinson's "Donald" poems was "He did not mumble it at all." (below on the left). Though the poem was written in 1868, the lines fit today's absurd efforts to blame Trump's anti-American rant with a lack-of-a-double-negative defense.

Dickinson's enigmatic poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "I shall not murmur it at last" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

He did not mumble it at all
The terms he chose with care –
It wasn’t hard to understand
For what he said was clear –
Divulging “wouldn’t” was his Aim
But those were specious words –
Why, Donald, Treason has a Voice –
And how – it sounds – like Yours.

By Emily Dickinson:

I shall not murmur if at last
The ones I loved below –
Permission have to understand
For what I shunned them so –
Divulging it would rest my Heart
But it would ravage theirs –
Why, Katie, Treason has a Voice –
But mine – dispels – in Tears.

The Age of Treason

7/17/2018

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

From sadness to outrage, that was the range of reactions to the shockingly incredible day when an American president stood submissively as a puppet before a foe. We were warned. We were warned.

As a matter of fact, a poem written in the late 1800s by the visionary Emmett Lee Dickinson spoke to such a regrettable and appalling day, when a president would kowtow to an adversary who attacked our country.

Trump's actions -- yesterday and in the past -- are tantamount to treason. He took an oath of office to protect and defend our constitution, our values and beliefs, and our American democracy.

Dickinson's poem "His treason, Truth is shot" (below on the left) inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "i reason, Earth is short" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

His treason, Truth is shot –
And Languish – absolute –
And we are hurt,
But what of that?

His treason, we have lived –
The worst Calamity
As our beliefs Decay,
But, what of that?

His treason, is our new Hell –
Somehow, it will be accepted –
Some new Equation given –
But, what of that?

By Emily Dickinson:

I reason, Earth is short –
And Anguish – absolute –
And many hurt,
But, what of that?

I reason, we could die –
The best Vitality
Cannot excel Decay,
But, what of that?

I reason, that in Heaven –
Somehow, it will be even –
Some new Equation, given –
But, what of that?

Yesterday was a moment of crisis. How will congress respond? Our elected officials and Trump's cabinet need to reflect upon their oaths of office. How will they respond to Trump's alarming performance on the world stage? Will they act to right the ship? Or will their muted response to Trump's treacherous words and actions leave us sighing, "But, what of that?"

Full of Hot Air

7/13/2018

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

The meaning of Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem “Traveling to London, looking forward” has remained a mystery since the day it was first published. Who was the little brat “Donald” that looked “like a rat”? What or who was “this Baby blimp” gliding over London that made the poet laugh? The answers to these questions have remained unanswered. However, Cecil Ridgewell Throckmorton, the designer of the Trump baby blimp in London was familiar with Dickinson’s poem, and he said that the lines inspired him to create the blimp.

“No one knows for sure the identity of the ‘Donald’ in Dickinson’s lines,” said Throckmorton, “but the story in the poem of a visitor to London observing a wind bag being led around by ropes spoke to me.”

Throckmorton said he had read the poem in his youth when he attended the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Pucklechurch in South Gloucestershire.

“This cryptic poem stuck with me through the years,” said Throckmorton, “and when I heard of Donald Trump’s plans to visit London, the idea of a baby blimp popped into me noggin straightaway.”

In addition to inspiring Throckmorton, Dickinson's poem (below on the left) inspired Dickinson's third cousin Emily to pen her poem "Trudging to Eden, looking backward" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Traveling to London, looking forward,
I met Somebody’s little Brat
Asked them his name – They barked me
“Donald” –
Lordy, does he look like a rat!

How it glided – by ropes that led him –
And that He did look like an imp!
I had to laugh – for so many smiling
New Acquaintance – this Baby blimp –

By Emily Dickinson:

Trudging to Eden, looking backward,
I met Somebody's little Boy
Asked him his name – He lisped me
"Trotwood" –
Lady, did He belong to thee?

Would it comfort – to know I met him –
And that He didn't look afraid?
I couldn't weep – for so many smiling
New Acquaintance – this Baby made –

Below left: Cecil Ridgewell Throckmorton's blimp of Baby Trump. Below right: the Emmett Lee Dickinson School for Boys in Pucklechurch, South Glousestershire, where Throckmorton attended school.

Families Belong Together

7/1/2018

From our political correspondent Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe:

A large contingency from the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts met in Washington, DC, yesterday to participate in the March for Children. What is happening in our government is chilling -- the development of the president's inhumane policy (advocated by John Kelly and white supremacist Stephen Miller), the separation of children from their parents, the use of cages to house children, the use of biblical scripture to support their heinous acts, the ruthless scheme of having toddlers appear alone in court, and the unemotional denials and cover-up about their cruel actions.

Of course, all of us were inspired to attend the rally due to a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). Dickinson's poem "Away from Home are some and more" (below on the left) also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "Away from Home are some and I" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Away from Home are some and more –
All Citizens to be
In a Metropolis of Cages
Is difficult to see –

The Practice of a President
We – patently – detest
As Children, who remain Apart
The more we will protest.

By Emily Dickinson:

Away from Home are some and I –
An Emigrant to be
In a Metropolis of Homes
Is easy, possibly –

The Habit of a Foreign Sky
We – difficult – acquire
As Children, who remain in Face
The more their Feet retire.

The rally started with a Native American speaker who said that we were all welcome on his people's land, and he stated that we are all united -- through the water, the air, and the land.

Below: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alicia Keys, and America Ferrera attended the rally: