Above: Indiana Governor Mike Pence signs the RFRA into law.
The current controversy in Indiana which began when Governor Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law was not the first time that the state found itself in such a hullabaloo.
No, back in the late 1870s, Indiana was in a similar uproar when then Governor Esau Maxwell Pence (no relation to current Governor Mike Pence) signed the Reading Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law, banning all poetry books by Emmett Lee Dickinson.
No, back in the late 1870s, Indiana was in a similar uproar when then Governor Esau Maxwell Pence (no relation to current Governor Mike Pence) signed the Reading Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law, banning all poetry books by Emmett Lee Dickinson.
| Pence, an ardent fan of the poetry of Emily Dickinson, was outraged when the poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was gaining in popularity with poetry lovers across the state. He indicated to the state legislature that he would sign a bill banning the work of "the Bore of Washerst," the nickname of the popular poet, were they to pass and present him with such a measure. When Pence signed the Reading Freedom Restoration Act, he was completely caught off guard by the ferocity of opposition he faced. Protests sprang up around the state and across the nation. With a full-page headline, the Washerst Star demanded that Indiana "Fix. This. Now." Even Emmett Lee Dickinson joined the fray by penning the poem "How lonesome that Pence must feel nights." His poem inspired third cousin Emily to write "How lonesome the Wind must feel nights." |  Above: Indiana Governor Esau Maxwell Pence |
| By Emmett Lee Dickinson: How lonesome that Pence must feel Nights – When people have turned on the Lights And everything that he has Banned Is on the bookshelf to be read – How pompous that Pence must feel Noons Shredding the adversarial Tomes Correcting errors of this guy And clarifying similes How mighty that Pence must feel Morns Purifying a thousand Words Spurning all with constituents Then shouting to him, “Fix. This. Now.” | By Emily Dickinson: How lonesome the Wind must feel Nights – When people have put out the Lights And everything that has an Inn Closes the shutter and goes in – How pompous the Wind must feel Noons Stepping to incorporeal Tunes Correcting errors of the sky And clarifying scenery How mighty the Wind must feel Morns Encamping on a thousand Dawns Espousing each and spurning all Then soaring to his Temple Tall – |
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