Middle's Cool

Although he was born in 1803, Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) remains one of the most influential figures in popular culture and the world of poetry. Dickinson’s life and work still inspires creative thinkers worldwide thanks to his enduring imagery, his artfully cultivated celebrity, and the ongoing research of dedicated scholars at the Emmett Lee Dickinson Applied Research and Education Center in historic Washerst, PA (the birthplace of America’s greatest poet).  

Pictured below: The Emmett Lee Dickinson Applied Research & Education Center on the Municipal Pier in Washerst, PA.

Dickinson’s impact as an artist, a scientist and an inventor is far deeper and greater than one can even imagine because his omnivorous curiosity resulted in an enormous body of work that spanned almost every field of study.   Recent research has established that Dickinson invented the art form that led to today’s mannequin challenge (HERE) and that he predicted global warming (HERE), and it has uncovered new paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe inspired by and dedicated to the poet (HERE).

​Now, with a recent investigation in conjunction with Anita Moore-Mooney, the Eustace K. Woogler Professor of Drama, Gender and Sexuality at Yale University and a world-renowned Middle School Dance Historian, we have uncovered evidence that Emmett Lee Dickinson invented the middle school dance.

Pictured at the right:  Middle school dance historian, Anita Moore-Mooney
 
The origin of the middle school dance is referenced in Dickinson’s now-classic poem “I have to dance upon my Toes” (below on the left).  His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “I cannot dance upon my Toe” (below on the right).
​

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
I have to dance upon my Toes –
The Girls all tower me –
But even so, among my mind
A Cool possesseth me,
 
For I have knowledge of the Dance –
To get myself a broad
With Boogie moves to shame the Rest –
And lay a Rival, mad,
 
And though I had no pants that fit
No Product, in my Hair,
I charmed the other Students – a Bird
With Feathers in the Air,
 
I tossed my shape across the Room,
I rolled around the floor
Till I was out of sight, in sound,
The House encore me so –
 
Now they all know I know the Art
I mention – easy – Here –
Even though our Middle School
Is full of Drama –

By Emily Dickinson:
 
I cannot dance upon my Toes –
No Man instructed me –
But oftentimes, among my mind,
A Glee possesseth me,

That had I Ballet knowledge –
Would put itself abroad
In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe –
Or lay a Prima, mad,

And though I had no Gown of Gauze –
No Ringlet, to my Hair,
Nor hopped to Audiences – like Birds,
One Claw upon the Air,

Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls,
Nor rolled on wheels of snow
Till I was out of sight, in sound,
The House encore me so –

Nor any know I know the Art
I mention – easy – Here –
Nor any Placard boast me –
It's full as Opera –