I have a variety of items today.
1. If you’ve seen my recent #DickinsonDaily posts, then you know about my one-man crusade against the Poetry Foundation (they have one of Dickinson’s poems numbered incorrectly, and I’m trying to get them to fix that). Info is HERE.
Earlier this year I even emailed peeps at the Foundation AND the Emily Dickinson Museum about this issue, and I’d never heard back from any of them – until now! LOL.
Yesterday, I emailed a new contact at the Poetry Foundation (the gentleman at the front desk with whom I spoke when I visited the place in late July), and I copied my email to those I’d written to before just to give them an update.
Well, lo and behold, I heard from one of them – although the response did not, in any way, move my cause forward. LOL. Here’s what she said:
“Thank you for your email, and I'm sorry that I haven't responded. It is a good catch, and I hope that the Poetry Foundation fixes it!
I don't have any connections at the Poetry Foundation to know who to contact.”
I’ll keep you posted as to if/when I hear from anyone else.
2. Did you know that poetry used to be included in the Olympics? Just like the 100 meters, it was an official Olympic competition – but only from 1912 to 1948. This facet of the games was known as the “Pentathlon of the Muses” and medals were awarded for music, literature, poetry, and even architecture.
1. If you’ve seen my recent #DickinsonDaily posts, then you know about my one-man crusade against the Poetry Foundation (they have one of Dickinson’s poems numbered incorrectly, and I’m trying to get them to fix that). Info is HERE.
Earlier this year I even emailed peeps at the Foundation AND the Emily Dickinson Museum about this issue, and I’d never heard back from any of them – until now! LOL.
Yesterday, I emailed a new contact at the Poetry Foundation (the gentleman at the front desk with whom I spoke when I visited the place in late July), and I copied my email to those I’d written to before just to give them an update.
Well, lo and behold, I heard from one of them – although the response did not, in any way, move my cause forward. LOL. Here’s what she said:
“Thank you for your email, and I'm sorry that I haven't responded. It is a good catch, and I hope that the Poetry Foundation fixes it!
I don't have any connections at the Poetry Foundation to know who to contact.”
I’ll keep you posted as to if/when I hear from anyone else.
2. Did you know that poetry used to be included in the Olympics? Just like the 100 meters, it was an official Olympic competition – but only from 1912 to 1948. This facet of the games was known as the “Pentathlon of the Muses” and medals were awarded for music, literature, poetry, and even architecture.
| 3. Speaking of the Olympics, did Dickinson ever use the word “Olympic” in any of her poems? Nope. How about “athlete”? No again. However, she did use the word “sport” in “She lay as if in play,” a poignant poem about the observation of a dead child. This theme – of a dead child, particularly a dead girl – was used in more than a handful of poems – and the first line of this one, “She lay as if in play” called to mind another poem, “She died at play.” Hmm. What is going on in that poem? Take a look at both of these poems, and then I’ll include more about them tomorrow. |  |
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