Category: Emmett Lee Dickinson - The Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum

Feast or Family

11/16/2018

From our 19th century historian, Eudora Dickinson:

When Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) pitched his idea for a national day of Thanksgiving to his best friend Abraham Lincoln – who was the President of the United States at the time – Lincoln was not keen on the idea.

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother,” said Lincoln, “but her family is a lot like fudge – mostly sweet, but with a lot of nuts. I just don’t think I could stomach a feast with those people – even if just once a year.”

Dickinson didn’t give up, though, and in 1863 he got Lincoln to proclaim a national day of Thanksgiving to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

Dickinson helped promote the new holiday by selling Thanksgiving day postcards with his poetry, and the public couldn’t get enough! They loved the postcards, they loved the poetry, and they grew to love the holiday – even if it meant having to break bread with objectionable and/ annoying family members – even if just once a year.

Below are some the top postcards sold by Dickinson in the first years to promote Thanksgiving.

The postcard above includes the following lines by Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Most she touched me by her muteness –
Most she won me by the way
She presented her small figure –
Pie itself - for Turkey Day -

Third cousin Emily borrowed the lines in a poem she wrote that begins as follows:

Most she touched me by her muteness –
Most she won me by the way
She presented her small figure –
Plea itself - for Charity –

The postcard below includes the following lines by Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Somebody run to get the plate
And see if Dinner’s coming! Wait!
I see the treat upon the tray!
Death won’t hurt – now Dinner’s here!

Third cousin Emily used these lines in her poem "Dying! Dying in the night!":

Somebody run to the great gate
And see if Dollie's coming! Wait!
I hear her feet upon the stair!
Death wont hurt -- now Dollie's here!

A popular postcard by Emmett Lee Dickinson included the following lines:

My Heart upon a dinner Plate
Their Palate to delight
Cranberries and a Yam or three
Might please their Appetite

Emily Dickinson penned this poem based on her third cousin's poem:

My Heart opon a little Plate
Her Palate to delight
A Berry or a Bun, would be,
Might it an Apricot!

Gorgeous Garbage -- Part 4

9/15/2018

From our master grammarian and resident logophile, Angstrom Dickinson:

The Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts in conjunction with the Folger Coffee Company will host a birthday tribute to Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at his request) to celebrate the publication of The Garbaged Somethings, a collection of scraps of paper and bits of trash on which Dickinson wrote lines of poetry and complete poems.

In December, a similar event to be hosted by the Folger Shakespeare Library will celebrate Emily Dickinson and The Gorgeous Nothings.

Information about both events are HERE.

Below are some of the pages from The Garbaged Somethings that will be discussed at the momentous event to be held in October:

Pictured at the left: A label from a Badger Roasted Coffee can appears on page 25 of The Garbaged Somethings. On the back of the label, Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote, "In the name of the Joe," a line he used to open this short poem:

In the name of the Joe –
And of the Jitter Juice –
And of the Brews – Amen!

Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to write this:

In the name of the Bee –
And of the Butterfly –
And of the Breeze – Amen!

Pictured at the right: Page 48 of The Garbaged Somethings includes a coffee can lid on which Dickinson wrote his poem "A willing lid o'er weary eye":

A willing lid o’er weary eye
As Morning on the Day dawns
Till I stumble through my House
To gain my Coffee Cup

Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to write this:

As willing lid o'er weary eye
The Evening on the Day leans
Till of all our Nature's House
Remains but Balcony

Pictured at the left: Page 53 of The Garbaged Somethings shows a Morning Glow coffee can on which Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote, "Cream & Sugar are for amateurs."

He never used that quip in a poem.

Pictured at the right: Plans for a coffee pot which Emmett Lee Dickinson invented and submitted for a patent in 1853 (shown on page 68 of The Garbaged Somethings).

Dickinson invented and received patents for at least seven different types of coffee pots, and on this particular diagram Dickinson wrote, "Who needs a joe to greet the World," a line used in his poem "How good was my Warm Bed" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "How good his Lava bed" (below on the right).

For more information on Dickinson's other inventions, click HERE.

Dickinson also coined the words "joe," "mud," "dirt," and "jitter juice" for coffee.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

How good was my Warm Bed,
To this soporific Boy –
Who needs a joe to greet the World
And start the sleepy Day –

By Emily Dickinson:

How good his Lava Bed,
To this laborious Boy –
Who must be up to call the World
And dress the sleepy Day –

To check out other pages from The Garbaged Somethings
that will be discussed at the October 12 event,
click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

American Art

9/11/2018

From our art columnist, Jarvis MacKinnon III:

Art forms most closely associated with each of the fifty states:

The American Federation of Federated Artists (AFFA) has published its annual list of arts most closely associated with and most prevalent in each of the fifty states.

On behalf of the Board members of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts (DOPE), I have lodged a formal complaint with the Federation since AFFA listed “poetry” as the art form most closely associated with Massachusetts solely because the state is the home of Emily Dickinson. AFFA listed "painting hex signs" as the art form most closely associated with Pennsylvania, the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) -- and we are incensed!

We are sick and tired of Emmett Lee Dickinson being thought of as the "Salieri" to Emily Dickinson's "Mozart," when hundreds of thousands of DOPEs across the country know it should be the other way around.

Please, take time tonight, tomorrow, and the next day to call AFFA to voice your incredulity too. Together, we will be heard.

Pictured at the right: A hex sign designed by Emmett Lee Dickinson that paid homage to his most popular invention, candy corn. This sign hung in the lobby of the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) for years -- until the building burned down on New Year's Eve in 2015. Information is HERE.

Gorgeous Garbage -- Part 3

9/9/2018

From our master grammarian and resident logophile, Angstrom Dickinson:

On October 12, 2018, there will be a birthday tribute to Emmett Lee Dickinson -- the poet who wrote more coffee poetry than any other poet -- at the Folger Coffee Company in historic Washerst, PA (the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). Then, on December 12, 2018, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, will host a birthday tribute to Emily Dickinson.

The October event will focus on a new publication, The Garbaged Somethings, a collection of scraps of paper and bits of trash on which Dickinson scrawled lines of poetry and thoughts and quips about coffee.

The December event will focus on the recent publication, The Gorgeous Somethings, the full-color facsimile publication of Emily Dickinson's manuscripts.

At the October event, Meryl Streep will take the stage with Starbucks' newly develop barista robot -- called "Servi-Tron" -- to discuss the collection of Emmett Lee Dickinson's "garbaged somethings."

More information about both the October and December events is found HERE. Some of the pages from The Garbaged Somethings are HERE and HERE.

Additional pages are below:

Pictured at the right: Page 19 of The Garbaged Somethings shows a burlap coffee bag on which Emmett Lee Dickinson scrawled the following:

For Whom the Nights become the Dawn
What must the Caffeine -- cause!

Those lines inspired third cousin Emily to write this:

To Whom the Mornings stand for Nights,
What must the Midnights -- be!

Pictured at the left: On a discarded wrapper for a Coffee Crisp shown on page 32 of The Garbaged Somethings, Dickinson wrote, "Some one prepared this mighty joe With which I get my Drive to go." He used those words to open this poem:

Some one prepared this mighty joe
With which I get my Drive to go
Through races of the Days –
To make it through my simple Door
And all I may encounter – and more

Dickinson's words inspired third cousin Emily to write this:

Some one prepared this mighty show
To which without a Ticket go
The nations and the Days –
Displayed before the simplest Door
That all may examine them – and more

Pictured at the right: On a discard Kuerig cup (page 45 of The Garbaged Somethings), Dickinson wrote, "I love you a Latte!" He never used that line in a poem about coffee.

Dickinson is also credited with being the first to say, "Cool beans!"

Pictured at the left: Page 76 of The Garbaged Somethings shows a discarded ice cream carton on which Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote the following poem:

Consulting the office clock
But half my break remains,
I ascertain it with a shock --
I shall not look again.
The second cup of joe
Is colder than the first.
The work I do not care to know
Will end much needed rest.

Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to write this:

Consulting summer's clock,
But half the hours remain.
I ascertain it with a shock --
I shall not look again.
The second half of joy
Is shorter than the first.
The truth I do not dare to know
I muffle with a jest.

Gorgeous Garbage -- Part 2

9/7/2018

From our master grammarian and resident logophile, Angstrom Dickinson:

On Friday, October 12, the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts, in conjunction with the Folger Coffee Company, will host a birthday tribute to America's greatest poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

Meryl Streep and Starbuck's new robot "Servi-Tron" will discuss The Garbarged Somethings, a new publication of Emmett Lee Dickinson's writings and poetry found on scraps of paper, bits of trash and more.

Information about the event -- and a companion event at the Folger Shakespeare Library on December 10 -- is HERE.

Sample pages from The Garbaged Somethings are HERE. Below are more pages from this momentous new publication.

Pictured at the left: Page 20 of The Garbaged Somethings shows a coffee cup with Dickinson's poem "Before It comes I weigh the time."

Before It comes I weigh the Time
‘Tis Early and ‘tis Dark,
When I depart, such Blissfulness
Inside my Coffee Cup

Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen this poem:

Before He comes We weigh the Time,
‘Tis Heavy and ‘tis Light,
When He depart, and Emptiness
Is the prevailing Freight

Pictured at the right: Page 35 displays a coffee cup lid with the following lines from Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Life is coffee we’re longing for,
Coffee the hinge to life.

These lines inspired third cousin Emily to write this:

Life is death we’re lengthy at,
Death the hinge to life.

Pictured at the left: On the back of a sugar packet -- shown on page 47 of The Garbaged Somethings -- Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote " How loud the Bells in Steeples peal Get coffee for this Guy." He used those lines to open this short poem:

How loud the Bells in Steeples peal
Get coffee for this Guy
I stagger on unsteady Feet
A frantic Day nearby!

This poem inspired third cousin Emily to write this:

How still the Bells in Steeples stand
Till swollen with the Sky
They leap upon their silver Feet
In frantic Melody!

Pictured at the right: A used napkin -- on page 71 of The Garbaged Somethings -- includes "Witchcraft has not a Pedigree / ‘Tis only just our Brew," lines which open this line:

Witchcraft has not a Pedigree
‘Tis only just our Brew
Commuters need it going out
Each day when morning’s new –

This poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson inspired third cousin Emily to pen this poem:

Witchcraft has not a Pedigree
'Tis early as our Breath
And mourners meet it going out
The moment of our death –

In the coming days, we will post more pages from The Garbage Somethings.

Gorgeous Garbage -- Part 1

9/3/2018

From our master grammarian and resident logophile, Angstrom Dickinson:

On Friday, October 12, the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts, in conjunction with the Folger Coffee Company, will host a birthday tribute to America's greatest poet, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

Meryl Streep will take the stage with Starbucks' newly develop barista robot -- called "Servi-Tron" -- to discuss the first full-color facsimile publication of Emmett Lee Dickinson's manuscripts. The new publication, called The Garbaged Somethings, includes all of the scraps and bits of trash on which Dickinson wrote his coffee poetry.

Information about the event -- and a companion event to be presented at the Folger Shakespeare Library on December 10, Emily Dickinson's birthday -- is found HERE.

Below are sample pages from the collection of Dickinson's The Garbaged Somethings.
(Click the pictures to enlarge.)

Pictured at the left: Page 16 of The Garbaged Somethings includes a photograph of a used coffee filter on which Dickinson wrote his poem "To wait an Hour -- is Eternity":

To wait an Hour – is Eternity –
If Coffee be just beyond –
To wait at all – is pointless –
If Decaf reward the end –

Dickinson’s poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen this poem:

To wait an Hour – is Long –
If Love be just beyond –
To wait Eternity – is short –
If Love reward the end –

Pictured at the right: Page 23 shows a used coffee filter on which Dickinson wrote, "A Yawn is a silent scream -- for coffee!"

Pictured at the left: Page 44 includes a photograph of a coffee bean on which Emmett Lee Dickinson engraved his poem "

The words the happy say
Are paltry melody
To when I say aloud:
One coffee – black –

Dickinson’s poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen this poem:

The words the happy say
Are paltry melody
But those the silent feel
Are beautiful –

Below: A close up of the coffee been inscribed by Emmett Lee Dickinson. Dickinson is the only poet known to have inscribed a coffee bean with a complete poem.

Pictured at the right: Page 85 of The Garbaged Somethings includes a coffee cup sleeve where Dickinson wrote "Exhilaration is the Brew / That lifts us from its Grounds." He used those lines in the following poem:

Exhilaration is the Brew
That lifts us from its Grounds,
And leaves us in another place
Where dullness is not found –

Returns us not, but after time
We solemnly descend
A bit enlivened for the term
Because Enchanted Grounds –

Dickinson’s poem inspired third cousin Emily to write this poem:

Exhilaration is the Breeze
That lifts us from the Ground,
And leaves us in another place
Whose statement is not found –

Returns us not, but after time
We soberly descend
A little newer for the term
Upon Enchanted Ground –

Be sure to check back in February 2019 too when we post more
of Emmett Lee Dickinson's coffee poetry.
For details, click HERE.

The Garbaged Somethings

9/1/2018

From our master grammarian and resident logophile, Angstrom Dickinson:

During the Great Paper Shortage from 1835 to 1847 which was brought on by the North American Wood Pulp Blight, Emmett Lee Dickinson and many other poets were highly distraught as there was little to no paper available for them to use.

"How can I write my poetry?" moaned Dickinson.

His sister Pythagoria replied dryly, "Use a bit of scrap."

With that, Dickinson began digging through the garbage, and he pulled out many and sundry scraps of paper and bits of trash on which he recorded his ideas, possible lines of poetry, and even full poems. He called this collection of debris his "garbaged somethings."

This October the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts in conjunction with the Folger Coffee Company will present an extraordinary event at the Folger Coffee Company plant in historic Washerst, PA (birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson) to celebrate Dickinson's collection of "The Garbaged Somethings."

The Folger Shakespeare Library will host a similar event in December to celebrate Emily Dickinson's collection of scraps and bits of paper now referred to as "The Gorgeous Nothings."

Below left: The Emmett Lee Dickinson Birthday Tribute celebrating The Garbaged Somethings will be hosted by Starbuck's new robot known as "Servi-Tron" and actress and Dickinson aficionado Meryl Streep. Below right: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC will host a related event in December to celebrate The Gorgeous Nothings.

Below left: The October birthday tribute to Emmett Lee Dickinson will be held on his birthday, October 12, at the Folger Coffee Company plant in historic Washerst, PA, the birthplace of American's greatest poet. Below right: The December birthday tribute to Emmett Lee's third cousin Emily will be held on her birthday, December 10, at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.

Below left: Dickinson's collection of The Garbaged Somethings is now in print! Below right: The Gorgeous Nothings

For more information on the gathering of DOPEs this October to celebrate the birthday of Emmett Lee Dickinson, click HERE.

Stark Raven MD -- Part 2

4/5/2018

From Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe, Chair of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts:

Board members from the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum and the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts visited Baltimore this past weekend to begin planning with city officials for a bicentennial event coming in 2023 – the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s and Emmett Lee Dickinson’s first appearance as the comedy duo “Izzy Sharp & Moe” at the Calvert Street Theatre.

Information and photos from the first half of our tour (Stark Raven MD – Part 1) are HERE.

Following our visit to the Peabody Library, we toured the Domino Sugar Factory, where Emmett Lee Dickinson first received sugar when he invented his candy creation Candy Corn, the world’s most popular candy.

Below left & right: Pics of Domino Sugars, Baltimore.

After the tour of the sugar factory, we stopped by the Bromo Seltzer clock tower. Emmett Lee Dickinson’s friend Isaac Emerson invented the medication to treat stomach ailments brought on by excessive intake of candy corn, the world’s most popular candy.

Below & Left: The Bromo Seltzer Clock Tower

Below: The clock tower used to include a replica of a Bromo Seltzer bottle; however, it was removed in 1936 because of structural concerns. Click the images to enlarge.

Like his friend Issac Emerson, Emmett Lee Dickinson also developed many medicines. Details are HERE.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed coffee, Emmett Lee Dickinson’s favorite drink, at the Daily Grind at Fell’s Point.

Below: The Daily Grind.

No poet has written more poetry about coffee than Emmett Lee Dickinson. Check out some of his coffee poetry HERE.

In the evening, we dined in Baltimore's Little Italy to pay homage to the fact that Italians LOVE Emmett Lee Dickinson like the French love Jerry Lewis (info HERE). We had dinner at La Scala and dessert (homemade cannolis) and after-dinner drinks at Café Gia – and both establishments were excellent!

Below: Scenes from Baltimore's Little Italy.

Below: La Scala

Below: Cafe Gia

Of course, no visit to Baltimore would be complete without a visit to the Emmett Lee Dickinson National Aquarium. Many people do not realize that the aquarium is named after Emmett Lee Dickinson in honor of his time as Chief Ichthyologist for Johns Hopkins University where he studied bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha).

Below: The Emmett Lee Dickinson National Aquarium at Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Below left: A few scenes from inside the aquarium. Below right: Pics from the jellyfish exhibit.

Below left: A photo of three professors from Johns Hopkins who were instrumental in planning for the Emmett Lee Dickinson National Aquarium to be in Baltimore. On the left is Giles Gride, a world renowned taxidermist who developed modern methods of fish taxidermy. On the right is Shelby Kedgegick Paul who pioneered new systems and procedures for filleting fish. Standing next to him is his wife, Mrs. Paul, who developed ways to cut filleted fish into "sticks."

Below center: In 1853, Emmett Lee Dickinson developed a method by which aquariums could clean fish tanks from the inside. The method is still used to this day at the National Aquarium.

Below right: Emmett Lee Dickinson invented the "snow glow," and there were many on sale in the National Aquarium's gift shop!

Below: Miscellaneous shots from around Baltimore.

Stark Raven MD -- Part 1

4/4/2018

From Dorothy "Lottie" Dawe, the chair of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts:

Board members from the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum and the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts visited Baltimore, Maryland, this past weekend to begin planning a huge event that will occur in Baltimore in 2023 -- the 200th anniversary of Dickinson's first performance with Edgar Allan Poe as the comedy duo "Izzy Sharp and Moe," a landmark event in the fields of entertainment and poetry.

In 1823, Edgar Allan Poe played banjo, sang comical songs, and told blue jokes under the name of Izzy Sharp at the Calvert Street Theatre on South Calvert Street in Baltimore. He later convinced his friend Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) that he needed a partner, and the two formed the comedy duo of Izzy Sharp and Moe. They were the first comedy team to tell "Why did the chicken cross the road?" and "Waiter, there's a fly in my soup" jokes.

Above: Baltimore's Calvert Street Theatre, where Poe and Dickinson performed as "Izzy Sharp & Moe." The building is now a Walgreens. Below left and right: Memorabilia from the 1800s: an antique postcard from the Calvert Street Theatre, and a theatre placard announcing a special morning performance by Poe and Dickinson.

Below: One of our first stops on our tour of Baltimore was the Westminster Church cemetery, the final resting place of Dickinson's comedy partner, Edgar Allan Poe.

Below: Additional shots from the Westminster Church cemetery. Right: A list of who is buried in the cemetery (click the image to enlarge).

Below: The city of Baltimore is sparing no expense for the bicentennial event in 2023. The Poe House at 203 North Amity Street is currently closed, and it is being completely restored for the event. Click the notice at the left to enlarge.

Below: The next stop on our tour was the stunning George Peabody Library, formerly known as the Library of the Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore. The Peabody Library is now a 19th-century focused research library for The Johns Hopkins University, and it contains rare volumes of work by both Emily and Emmett Lee Dickinson.

Below: The library's card catalog led us to rare volumes of poetry by both Emily and Emmett Lee Dickinson. Click the image in the center to enlarge.

Below right: In anticipation of the event -- which is expected to draw the biggest crowds in the city's history -- Baltimore has already installed a massive plinth in the Wyman Park Dell -- just across from the Baltimore Museum of Art -- where a statue honoring Dickinson and Poe will stand.

For more information/pics of our trip to Baltimore, click HERE.

The Cat's Meow

2/17/2018

From our 19th century historian Eudora Dickinson:

Today is World Cat Day, established in 1853 by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) to honor third cousin Lavinia Dickinson who, unlike her sister Emily, loved cats. Emmett Lee Dickinson loved cats too.

Lavinia Dickinson was very appreciative of Emmett Lee’s establishment of World Cat Day – “a day when cats can think they are the rulers of the world,” she said.

“Just like every other day,” replied Emily.

Pictured at the right: Lavinia Dickinson and her cat Drummy-Doodles.

Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote several poems about cats, including “My Human – I’ll meow” (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “My Maker – let me be” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

My Human – I'll meow
A Word of two for thee –
But knowing this
When mad I'll hiss –

By Emily Dickinson:

My Maker – let me be
A World of two from thee –
But nearer this
I more should miss –

Picture below: A photograph of Emmett Lee Dickinson's cat, Little Ricky, outside Emily Dickinson's home in Amherst, Massachusetts: