Spell Trouble

From Angstrom Dickinson:

Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee was cancelled this year.  

In honor of the cancelled Bee, I have posted two versions of Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "After a hundred words" below on the left.  The first version was written in 1853; the second is from 1862.  Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "After a hundred years," below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
Version 1 (1853):

After a hundred words
Nobody knows them All
Agony’s enacted for some
Motioned off by Bells
 
Words triumphant ranged
Children spelled and stressed
For the one: “Orthography”
For another: “cheiropompholyx”
 
Words are battlefields
Checked along the way –
Etymology’s the Key
Stored in memory –
 
By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
Version 2 (1862):
 
After a hundred words
Everyone knows their Place
Agony was enacted here
Spellbinding at Best
 
Words triumphant ranged
Students strained and spelled
At the Orthography Bee
As the Losers Fell
 
Terms as Battle Fields
Recollect the way –
I ere E ’cept after C
Helped with memory –

By Emily Dickinson:


After a hundred years
Nobody knows the Place
Agony that enacted there
Motionless as Peace

Weeds triumphant ranged
Strangers strolled and spelled
At the lone Orthography
Of the Elder Dead

Winds of Summer Fields
Recollect the way –
Instinct picking up the Key
Dropped by memory –

Prior to the cancellation of the national Bee, I attended a regional Bee, and here are a few notes about how some of it went:

* Honor was the first word (and spelled correctly).

* Bookkeeper was the second word -- and the first missed by one of the spellers.  She left out a "k."

* Telephone took out a speller -- he said "t e l O p h o n e."

* Scorpion was missed -- she ended it with "i A n."

* Oops -- the next casualty was for "Larva."  He inverted the "v" and the "r."

* Podium and Bedlam were both misspelled -- but I didn't quite catch how the kids spelled them.

* Ceiling was misspelled as "S e i l i n g."

* Surprise, surprise -- raspberry was spelled correctly!  I thought that "p" might bring the speller down!

* Gorgon was spelled correctly.  I thought he might say "g o r g A n."

* The next speller stumbled on stubble -- she used only one "b."

* Enviable took the speller down -- she started the word with an "I."

* Bassoon was spelled with only one "s."

* Dystopia took down a speller who started the word with "d i s."

* A later speller omitted the "a" from "carriage."

* The next word was "bolide."  What?  What the heck is a "bolide"?  I had to look it up.  It's "an extremely bright meteor." 
The kid got it right.

* Turmoil was misspelled.  The student started with "t e r."

* Mugwump was spelled correctly.

* Vivacious was missed.  The student spelled it as "v i v a t i o u s."

* The next speller missed "shiatsu."  He forgot the "h."

* Lanai was spelled correctly, as was "divvy."

* A later speller missed "aubergine."  She started the word with an "O."

* Resiliency was the winning word.