Category: EDIS

Seven Years Later

8/12/2024

I live in Charlottesville, VA, where Imperial Grand Wizard Trump’s “very fine” Nazis marched in 2017.

But I wasn’t in town during the march at UVA or the protest the next day when a Trump supporter killed Heather Heyer.

No, I was in Amherst, MA, at the annual meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society. It was surreal— being at that gathering while conservative radicals were spewing hate and violence at home.

I documented my trip to Boston & Amherst & info from the EDIS meeting HERE (but be forewarned: there’s a LOT there! LOL — whenever you have a day with time on your hands, you can revisit it).

The next year, 8/12/18, I visited the site of the violence. It was so surreal— my town was like a war zone.
Info/pics are HERE.

You'll notice that that article was written/submitted by “Lemuel Stuart III” —but that’s a fictitious person. Back in the day, when I was the principal of a public middle school, I hid my identity because my site was so anti-Trump. I didn’t was to trigger some attack by the conservative snowflakes.

About a week before the one-year anniversary, I went to local stores and urged them to hideaway their displays of tiki-torches. Info/pics are HERE.

In 2021, the confederate statues in our town were finally removed. I went downtown to witness the removal, and info & pics are HERE.

One last comment: on the second anniversary, my wife and I saw Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” on the big screen — in Charlottesville. OMG — have you seen it? We were not ready for that ending.

The audience sat in stunned silence as the images of Trump’s “very fine” Nazi’s wreaked havoc in our town & murdered Heather Heyer.

It was very emotional. I’m choked up now just typing this.

BTW: When I returned home from my trip to Amherst & went back to work — following the weekend of violence here at home — the FBI stopped by my school (I was the principal), because they were looking for any/all camera footage of what went on that weekend.

Evidently, after the tiki-torch march on the campus of UVA, many of the Nazis came toward town, & many crossed the campus of my school — they tossed their torches into our school’s dumpster.

No other issues — and no camera footage. We only had cameras inside the school.

However, I always wonder IF the Nazis knew the history of the school, would they have done any damage?

The school — now a middle school — was a high school for African-American students from 1951 to 1967.

In April 2022 we had a ceremony at the school as the school was honored with a state historic marker. I was one of the speakers.

I posted pics online — some are below — and (are you ready for this)…

I was attacked online by conservative whites — saying that it was white people like me bringing about the end of our country.
I was shocked — but not surprised.
(And like I said earlier, before I retired I kept my identity somewhat hidden on this site.)

0 Comments

All the Rage

9/16/2017

2 Comments

Evening Star No. V, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1917

Diner, Richard Estes, 1971

This past August I attended the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society in Amherst, MA. Info and pics from my trip are HERE.

On the first afternoon of the conference, I attended the group discussion on "Dickinson on Screen" which mainly focused on Terence Davies' feature-film on Emily Dickinson, "A Quiet Passion." The session was led by Martha Nell Smith (EDIS President), Barbara Dana (an actor who has portrayed Dickinson), Jonnie Guerra (who wrote the EDIS review of the film), and Jane Wald (Executive Director of the Dickinson Museum).

Most opinions in the room about Davies' film were anything but quiet but completely passionate -- and most did not like the film. Only a few of us in the discussion seemed to support or at least appreciate the movie.

A major sticking point with many in the group centered on whether or not the movie was a "bio-pic," and if a bio-pic, then Davies' film failed in countless ways. Details from the poet's life were either missing, mixed, or mistaken. Too many characters were composites of Dickinson's friends and/or acquaintances. Events from Dickinson's life were either erroneous or engineered. The film, they argued, was just not a true depiction of the poet's life.

One was frustrated -- if not furious -- that Davies hadn't read Dickinson's letters ("There just wasn't time," he's reported to have said). One facilitator who had portrayed Dickinson on the stage was aggravated -- if not angry -- with Cynthia Nixon's portrayal of Dickinson ("Where was the joy?" she asked). Many were troubled -- if not incensed -- by the costumes and accessories ("it looked like they were in the antebellum south -- and they wouldn't have twirled parasols").

"They wouldn't have twirled parasols," said one of the film's critics -- even though Emily Dickinson wrote of parasols in at least least four of her poems. Here's the opening lines to one of them:

It will be Summer - eventually.
Ladies - with parasols -
Sauntering Gentlemen - with Canes -
And little Girls - with Dolls -

Of course, Davies had a limited budget and two hours to convey his story of the poet -- and Jane Wald, the Director of the Emily Dickinson Museum, reported to the group that at some point during the filming, Davies stopped referring to A Quiet Passion as a "bio pic." Most if not all were relieved to hear that. Obviously, the movie is one artist's attempt to tell a story of woman who was passionate about her views -- and her poetry -- in a society where women were expected only to write letters.

Personally, I enjoyed the film, and I'll write more about my views in future posts. For now, though, I'll finish with a rationale for including the O'Keefe and Estes paintings at the top of the page: O'Keeffe painted her impression of an evening star, and Estes painted a flawless, exact representation of a diner. Do you prefer one over the other? Was O'Keeffe too loose with the details and images that make up an evening star? Was Estes too literal in his rendering of a diner? Do both have merit?

Davies filmed his impression of Dickinson and of 19th-century New England. Whether one thinks he was too loose or too literal (well, of course, most of those in the discussion group wished he had been a little more literal), the film does have merit.

More discussion later! : )

2 Comments

Back to School

8/26/2017

0 Comments

As fall approaches, and the US heads back to school, we’d like to call for the attention of all English teachers: Are you an English teacher? If so, are you a member of the Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) – or the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts (DOPE)?

Earlier this month I visited Amherst, MA, and attended the 2017 annual meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society. On the final evening of the event, all of the participants were treated to a wonderful picnic and entertainment on the lawn of Emily Dickinson’s home, the Homestead.

Prior to that, and just as public tours concluded for the day, both the Homestead and Austin & Susan Dickinson’s home, the Evergreens, were open and available for all of us to walk through.

As I entered the Homestead, a woman who had just finished a public tour was leavning, but she stopped me to ask what was going on. I told her about the EDIS and the weekend event. She told me that she was a high school English teacher, but that she had never heard of the EDIS. She listened raptly as I told her about the organization, the journal, the annual meeting and the international conferences. She said that she was going to look into join the EDIS when she returned home – plus she was going to spread the word among the English teachers at her school.

Are you an English teacher? Are you a fan of the life and work of Emily Dickinson? Are you aware of the EDIS? Information is HERE, and I urge you to consider joining this wonderful group. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the 2017 annual meeting – and you can read all about it( and see lots of pics) in my travelogue HERE.

Of course, as the world’s leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request), I also encourage you to check out the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts. Information about the fall meeting of DOPEs is HERE.

More info about my trip to Amherst for the annual meeting of the EDIS is HERE and HERE.

0 Comments

A Welcome Site -- Part 1

8/24/2017

0 Comments

From Jim Asher, the world's leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request):

A few weeks ago, I attended the 2017 annual meeting of the Emily Dickinson International Society in Amherst, MA. A travelogue about my trip is HERE.

Since I arrived a day early and had a little bit of free time, I checked the "top things to do" at TripAdvisor.com to see what else I should visit in Amherst in addition to the Emily Dickinson Museum, the area's top attraction.

Below left: The #2 attraction in Amherst is the Amherst Ink Cartridge Recycling Center at the North Amherst Library, "a marvel in modern-day recycling."

Below right: Another top attraction in Amherst is the Amherst Storage Pod Park. Located on 30 acres of paved lots, tourists can walk for miles to admire row after row of self-storage units.

Below left: A very popular family attraction in Amherst is Paul's Shoe Repair where "children of all ages can marvel at resoling, reheeling with leather and nonslip-rubber, and repairing of bags and belts."

While I was investigating the top attractions in Amherst, I of course examined the reviews of the Emily Dickinson Museum, and I was shocked -- stunned -- to find that someone had rated the place "Terrible."

Above right: Say whaaa...? Terrible? Really?

Coming soon: My review of someone's "Terrible" review of the Emily Dickinson Museum in "A Welcome Site -- Part 2."

0 Comments

All In The Family

8/3/2017

0 Comments

The Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) is hosting their 2017 annual meeting in Amherst, MA, on August 11 and 12.

Jim Asher, the world's leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) and a life-time member of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts (DOPE) will be there. Our staff of ace reporters from the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum will cover all the news that's fit to print when the devotees of "the Belle of Amherst" meet the number one admirer of "the Bore of Washerst."

When cultures clash, will Asher be once -- or even twice -- removed?

Catch all the details HERE.

Also, in October, check out our coverage of the 2017 annual conference of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts. The DOPE festivities will include the WORLD PREMIER ot Terence Davies' long-awaited sequel to A Quiet Passion, his bio-pic of Emily Dickinson.

A Clamorous Indifference tells the story of America's forgotten poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

A Clamorous Indifference stars Neil Patrick Harris as America's greatest poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson, and Cynthia Nixon reprises her role as Dickinson's third cousin Emily.

For details, click HERE.

0 Comments

Pet Peeve

9/17/2016

0 Comments

Did you know that “The Secret Life of Pets” was originally going to be called “The Secret Life of Poets”?

The story of the rescue of Max the dog was meant to be a re-telling of the life and times of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). Notice, for example, that all of the pets in the movie poster (below) are in the classic pose of Dickinson himself. However, directors Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney endured so much pressure from the Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) that they changed the title of the film to the “The Secret Life of Pets,” and they altered many of the tell-tale signs of the Dickinson family in the allegorical saga.

The initial plan for the movie was to tell the secret life of the Dickinson family in the brutal “publish or perish” wars of organized crime in Amherst, MA, in the mid- to late-1800s. Detailed information is HERE.

Of course, the protagonist of “The Secret Life of Poets” was to be a dog named Emmett, but after the title was changed to “The Secret Life of Pets,” the dog’s name was changed to Max. Snowball, the all-white bunny representing Emily Dickinson, was originally going to be named Snow Belle. Max’s good friend Duke was to represent Emmett Lee Dickinson’s best friend Abraham Lincoln, Chloe was Lavinia Dickinson, and Tiberius the hawk was Austin Dickinson.

The movie was to include many other parallels to the lives of the Dickinson family. However, when the EDIS got wind of the tell-all tale of the Dickinson family involvement in the “publish or perish wars,” Lawrence “Baby Fat Larry” Destafano, the Primary Global Logistics and Public Relations Supervisor for the EDIS, contacted the film’s directors and let them know of the EDIS’ “displeasure” with the direction the story was taking.

Pictured at the right: Lawrence "Baby Fat Larry" Destafano, Primary Global Logistics and Public Relations Supervisor for the Emily Dickinson International Society.

Soon after meeting with Destafano, directors Renaud and Cheney yielded to the strong arm of the EDIS, and the screenplay changed substantially. Still, there are so many subtle and shrewd connections to the Dickinson family, that it’s really no secret that the true theme of “The Secret Life of Pets” is the secret lives of poets.

For more information on the connection between Emmett Lee Dickinson and movies, click HERE.

0 Comments

Seven Years Later

All the Rage

Back to School

A Welcome Site -- Part 1

All In The Family

Pet Peeve

Archives

PLOG

Categories