Yesterday I presented info on MacGregor Jenkins’ book “Emily Dickinson Friend and Neighbor" (HERE), a book he published in 1930 when he was 61 years old.
Jenkins – as you can tell by the title of his book – was a neighbor of the Dickinsons, and he was a friend and playmate to Dickinson’s niece Martha Gilbert Dickinson.
Jenkins – as you can tell by the title of his book – was a neighbor of the Dickinsons, and he was a friend and playmate to Dickinson’s niece Martha Gilbert Dickinson.
Martha was born in 1866; Jenkins was born in 1869. When Dickinson died in 1886, Martha was 19 and MacGregor Jenkins was 16 – although at some point before his 16th year, his family moved away from Amherst.
Throughout much of his book, “Emily Dickinson Friend and Neighbor,” Jenkins shares most of his memories based on a stack of notes and letters he and his family received from Dickinson – from when they lived in Amherst and from when they lived at their new address.
About one brief communication, Jenkins reported, “I fancy this note came after some unusually noisy or meddlesome escapade. It may well have been sent as balm for our injured feelings after reprimand by Lavinia or Maggie (the Dickinson’s housekeeper) or some member of our own families.”
On occasions such of this, Jenkins stated that “Miss Emily…arrayed herself unflinchingly on our side, and, as was her wont, declared herself our friend and ally and cheered us with her fragrant approval, for she said,
‘Dear Boys,
Please never grow up, which is ‘much better – ‘ Please never improve – you are perfect now. ‘Emily’”
At this point, Jenkins discussed Dickinson’s irregular punctuation: “It is difficult to reproduce the peculiarities of her punctuation. She used dashes and very little else.”
See below for Jenkins’ wonderful account of how, then, these “peculiarities” guided and embodied her writing.
More on Jenkins’ book “Emily Dickinson, Friend and Neighbor” soon – but not tomorrow. LOL – tomorrow I’ll have something a bit more offbeat and kooky.
Throughout much of his book, “Emily Dickinson Friend and Neighbor,” Jenkins shares most of his memories based on a stack of notes and letters he and his family received from Dickinson – from when they lived in Amherst and from when they lived at their new address.
About one brief communication, Jenkins reported, “I fancy this note came after some unusually noisy or meddlesome escapade. It may well have been sent as balm for our injured feelings after reprimand by Lavinia or Maggie (the Dickinson’s housekeeper) or some member of our own families.”
On occasions such of this, Jenkins stated that “Miss Emily…arrayed herself unflinchingly on our side, and, as was her wont, declared herself our friend and ally and cheered us with her fragrant approval, for she said,
‘Dear Boys,
Please never grow up, which is ‘much better – ‘ Please never improve – you are perfect now. ‘Emily’”
At this point, Jenkins discussed Dickinson’s irregular punctuation: “It is difficult to reproduce the peculiarities of her punctuation. She used dashes and very little else.”
See below for Jenkins’ wonderful account of how, then, these “peculiarities” guided and embodied her writing.
More on Jenkins’ book “Emily Dickinson, Friend and Neighbor” soon – but not tomorrow. LOL – tomorrow I’ll have something a bit more offbeat and kooky.
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