For the past few days I’ve posted information about a discussion group I participated with this past week – it’s a monthly discussion sponsored by the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA.
Prior to the meeting I received a PDF with info related to the theme of the group’s meeting, and it included four poems which would also be explored. When I opened the PDF, I was familiar with three of the four poems, but something about each poem’s title (i.e., opening line) did surprise me.
After each opening line, the PDF included the Johnson number, the Franklin number, and – one other mystery number that started with an M.
For example, the first line for "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" was followed by the date it was written and three numbers, like this: (1862, F260/J228/M128).
The “Johnson number,” in the middle, is the poem’s designated number (228) in the 1955 seminal work edited by Thomas Johnson, “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson” (it was the first time all of Dickinson’s poems were included in one edition). The “Franklin number,” with the “F,” is the poem’s number in R. W. Franklin’s 1998 updated version of Dickinson’s complete poems.
And then there was that “M” number. What was that?
An “M” number? I’d never seen Dickinson’s poems designated with “M” numbers.
Prior to the meeting I received a PDF with info related to the theme of the group’s meeting, and it included four poems which would also be explored. When I opened the PDF, I was familiar with three of the four poems, but something about each poem’s title (i.e., opening line) did surprise me.
After each opening line, the PDF included the Johnson number, the Franklin number, and – one other mystery number that started with an M.
For example, the first line for "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" was followed by the date it was written and three numbers, like this: (1862, F260/J228/M128).
The “Johnson number,” in the middle, is the poem’s designated number (228) in the 1955 seminal work edited by Thomas Johnson, “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson” (it was the first time all of Dickinson’s poems were included in one edition). The “Franklin number,” with the “F,” is the poem’s number in R. W. Franklin’s 1998 updated version of Dickinson’s complete poems.
And then there was that “M” number. What was that?
An “M” number? I’d never seen Dickinson’s poems designated with “M” numbers.
| Well, I did some research, and I came across this information: “Emily Dickinson's Poems: As She Preserved Them is a major new edition of Dickinson's verse intended for the scholar, student, and general reader.” This new compilation of Dickinson’s poems was published in 2016, and it was compiled/edited by Cristanne Miller – hence, the “M.” And… No surprise here, I bet: Yes, I ordered myself a copy! LOL. Here’s info on the book – AND – it’s from my favorite indie bookstore, Charm City Books, in Baltimore, MD. To check it out, click HERE. I received an email from Charm City Books just yesterday, and my copy is on the way! |  |
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