I started this series of posts yesterday (HERE) on George Monteiro’s 1998 book Robert Frost and the New England Renaissance – specifically on info from the second chapter, “Dangling Conversation,” which focuses on the influence of Dickinson on Frost’s early poems.
In just the second paragraph of the chapter, Monteiro stated this:
“Frost felt fiercely competitive with his predecessors as well as with his contemporaries, and his responses to Dickinson’s growing popularity ranged from deference to deprecation. Once he called her ‘a genius, but mad.’ Yet in a more generous moment, he honored her (albeit chauvinistically) as ‘the best of all the women poets who ever wrote, from Sappho on down.’”
In just the second paragraph of the chapter, Monteiro stated this:
“Frost felt fiercely competitive with his predecessors as well as with his contemporaries, and his responses to Dickinson’s growing popularity ranged from deference to deprecation. Once he called her ‘a genius, but mad.’ Yet in a more generous moment, he honored her (albeit chauvinistically) as ‘the best of all the women poets who ever wrote, from Sappho on down.’”
 | [BTW: Info on Sappho is HERE.] The only way Frost could have made his compliment more glowing would have been to start with, “I don’t care what anyone else thinks of Dickinson, but….” Back to Monteiro; he then shared info with which I was completely unaware – and I have to say – it floored me. Here’s what he reported: “This tribute (i.e., the quote about Dickinson being ‘the best of all the women poets’) Frost paid in 1960, at a time when he had been deeply disappointed by Amherst College’s failure to invite him to participate in its Dickinson celebration.” Say what? A Dickinson tribute at Amherst College, and Frost was snubbed? Dish, bish, dish – as some in the various younger Gens might say. What are the deets? Well, I had to wait until Chapter 3, “One Clapping Hand,” to find out more. Here are the beans which Monteiro spilled: |
“Of course Robert Frost was the one they should have asked. But no one asked him. Instead the committee invited three other poets: Louise Bogan, Archibald MacLeish, and Richard Wilbur.”
The occasion, by the way, was the town of Amherst’s bicentennial celebration in 1959. Monteiro continued:
"The event was a panel discussion organized by Amherst College to honor Emily Dickinson as part of the town’s festivities. Frost was miffed.”
Frost’s friend Louis Mertins gave this account about the snub from Frost in his book Robert Frost: Life and Talks–Walking:
“I wasn’t asked to be on the panel of discussion. Now some who are on the panel don’t know too much about Emily – Archie doesn’t, I know. Louise Bogan doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does. The other fellow, a college man here, Richard Wilbur, isn’t interested in Emily at all.”
This is where Frost then tagged on his “best woman poet” remark, “from Sappho on down.”
Well, you know the modern-day phenomenon when people view TikToks or Reels and then rush to the comments to see what’s being said because the videos are so unbelievably unbelievable? That’s how it was with me when I read Monteiro’s account. Frost – snubbed? By Amherst College? For a tribute to Emily Dickinson? I rushed to the Interwebs to see what comments I could find.
This, to me, was like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ snub way back in 1961 when they failed to nominate Anthony Perkins for an Academy Award for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” Yes, AMBAS gave Perkins the same silent treatment Mother Bates gave Dr. Richman (played by Simon Oakland) at the end of the film. However, you can run searches on that blunder and find scads of info about it.
The occasion, by the way, was the town of Amherst’s bicentennial celebration in 1959. Monteiro continued:
"The event was a panel discussion organized by Amherst College to honor Emily Dickinson as part of the town’s festivities. Frost was miffed.”
Frost’s friend Louis Mertins gave this account about the snub from Frost in his book Robert Frost: Life and Talks–Walking:
“I wasn’t asked to be on the panel of discussion. Now some who are on the panel don’t know too much about Emily – Archie doesn’t, I know. Louise Bogan doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does. The other fellow, a college man here, Richard Wilbur, isn’t interested in Emily at all.”
This is where Frost then tagged on his “best woman poet” remark, “from Sappho on down.”
Well, you know the modern-day phenomenon when people view TikToks or Reels and then rush to the comments to see what’s being said because the videos are so unbelievably unbelievable? That’s how it was with me when I read Monteiro’s account. Frost – snubbed? By Amherst College? For a tribute to Emily Dickinson? I rushed to the Interwebs to see what comments I could find.
This, to me, was like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ snub way back in 1961 when they failed to nominate Anthony Perkins for an Academy Award for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” Yes, AMBAS gave Perkins the same silent treatment Mother Bates gave Dr. Richman (played by Simon Oakland) at the end of the film. However, you can run searches on that blunder and find scads of info about it.
 | In this case – about the Amherst-Frost snub – I searched and searched and searched but came up empty handed. What is the town trying to hide? Hmm? What’s hidden in their cellar, so to speak? I did find this statement on Frost, written by William John "Bill" Peverill (often referred to as Pipa Bill), and it includes reference to one of the tribute’s panelists: |
| “Frost read his poetry and discussed other poets and their work, not always in a flattering manner. He revered Dickinson and forgave Ezra Pound, but he rejected Archibald MacLeish's politics and considered him pompous and a second-rate poet. He viewed T. S. Eliot as a snob and a phony, his British accent affected. Eliot's poetry was also phony and derivative, pretentious scholarship.” |  |
For now, like Detective Arbogast (played by Martin Balsam), I'll continue my investigation. If you don’t hear from me within the hour – jump in a car with Sam and Lila and come searching for me!
| MISCELLANEOUS: For info on the origins of "one hand clapping," the title of Chapter 3 in Monteiro's book, click HERE. Info on the Amherst College Dickinson panelists: Louise Bogan, click HERE. Archibald MacLeish, click HERE. Richard Wilbur, click HERE. At the right: The Bates Motel now offers bathrobes for sale. Info on the movie "Psycho" is HERE. Award winners from the 33rd Academy Awards (when Anthony Perkins was snubbed) are listed HERE. |  |
Finally, in the picture of Sappho up at the top, She is shown holding a barbitos and plectrum. A barbitos is an ancient Greek stringed instrument, and a plectrum is a a thin, flat piece of slightly flexible material used to pluck the strings of a musical instrument.
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