We were very sad to hear the news of Prince's death this week. Prince was an avid fan of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), and he used to be a frequent visitor to the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) -- before it burned down on New Year's Eve 2015.
In his youth, Prince Rogers Nelson attended the Emmett Lee School for Boys in Minneapolis and that is where he developed his love of Dickinson's poetry. "There would be no Prince," he once said "were it not for the life and poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson."
In his youth, Prince Rogers Nelson attended the Emmett Lee School for Boys in Minneapolis and that is where he developed his love of Dickinson's poetry. "There would be no Prince," he once said "were it not for the life and poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson."
Below left: Prince's yearbook picture from the Emmett Lee School for Boys in Minneapolis. Below right: The Emmett Lee School for Boys in Minneapolis.
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One of Prince's favorite books was Stephen Oates’s 1977 With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln. Oates focused much of the book on Lincoln's relationship with his life-long friend Emmett Lee Dickinson. The two were drinking buddies, and they would often hit the bars in Baltimore and Washington, D. C. Oates reported that Lincoln would regularly have a few too many drinks and yell, "Let's go crazy," and Dickinson would respond, "Let's party like it's 1899."
Prince said that his favorite poem by Dickinson was "The purple Rain when my Sweet leaves" (below on the left). The poem inspired Prince to compose "Purple Rain." The poem also inspired Dickinson's third cousin Emily to pen her poem "The pretty Rain from those sweet Eaves" (below on the right).
Prince said that his favorite poem by Dickinson was "The purple Rain when my Sweet leaves" (below on the left). The poem inspired Prince to compose "Purple Rain." The poem also inspired Dickinson's third cousin Emily to pen her poem "The pretty Rain from those sweet Eaves" (below on the right).
| By Emmett Lee Dickinson: The purple Rain when my Sweet leaves My unoffending Eyes – Only want her own Heart laughing, In Innocent Surprise – I wrestle with my feeling Down I mean not to cause pain I did not mean – to vanquish her – When there is purple Rain – | By Emily Dickinson: The pretty Rain from those sweet Eaves Her unintending Eyes – Took her own Heart, including ours, By innocent Surprise – The wrestle in her simple Throat To hold the feeling down That vanquished her – defeated Feat – Was Fervor's sudden Crown – |
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