Thirst Editions

From our 19th century historian, Eudora Dickinson:

​I saw this on Twitter today:

Of course Mr. Atkinson's chart might make one wonder what libations would top a similar list for poets?  

Well, in the case of the Dickinsons, we know exactly what would rank as their "thirst editions."

For Emily Dickinson -- and her sister Lavinia -- the choice would be a keg of beer.  There was nothing the sisters loved more than frat parties and keggers at Amherst college. 

For Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request, the choice would be a Margarita, the lime libation he invented!  Information about Dickinson & his delicious concoction is HERE. 

Of course, Emmett Lee Dickinson knew of his third cousin Emily's fondness for keggers at Amherst College, and he immortalized her addiction to frat parties in his now-classic poem, "As School Bells end the summer" (below on the left).  His poem inspired Emily to pen her poem "As Sleigh Bells seem in summer" (below on the right). 

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
As School Bells end the summer
And Boys, at Amherst show –
So friendly – so flirtatious
The individuals go
Replete with strong libations –
A Party does ensue –
She’s down there in an instant
Till Dawn the Ingénue. 
​

By Emily Dickinson:
 
As Sleigh Bells seem in summer
Or Bees, at Christmas show –
So fairy – so fictitious
The individuals do
Repealed from observation –
A Party that we knew –
More distant in an instant
Than Dawn in Timbuctoo.

---

​Pictured at the right:  In 1849, Emily Dickinson wrote to her cousins Frances and Louisa Norcross.  In her letter, Dickinson stated the following:

"There is to be a party at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house tomorrow night.  They say that home is where the heart is ~ I think it is where the Sigma house is, and the adjacent buildings.
 
Vinnie and I will be happy amid this delightful kegger, and well we will drink our icy beers ~ and the world there will be so beautiful, and things so sweet and fair, that my heart will be soothed and comforted."