I published a series of recent posts in response to a footnote in MIllicent Todd Bingham’s “Ancestors’ Brocades.” In the note – shown below – she mentioned three poems which had been written about Emily Dickinson shortly after her mother, Mabel Loomis Todd, had published the first collection of Dickinson’s poems in 1890:
““The sonnet, written by LeRoy Phillips of the class of 1892 at Amherst College, was published in the Amherst Literary Monthly, June 1891, and again in The New England Magazine, November, 1891…Two other poems to Emily appeared that same year: G. E. Meredith, “The Poems of Emily Dickinson,” The Literary World, Boston, April 11, 1891; and Mary Elwell Storrs, “Emily Dickinson, 1830 – 1886,” The Springfield Republican, May 22, 1891.”
In my discussions of two of the poems, I was also able to show images of the works in their original sources; I wrote about LeRoy Phillips’ sonnet and showed an image of it in the November 1891 The New England Magazine. I wrote about G. E. Meredith’s poem and showed an image of it in the April 1891 The Literary World.
““The sonnet, written by LeRoy Phillips of the class of 1892 at Amherst College, was published in the Amherst Literary Monthly, June 1891, and again in The New England Magazine, November, 1891…Two other poems to Emily appeared that same year: G. E. Meredith, “The Poems of Emily Dickinson,” The Literary World, Boston, April 11, 1891; and Mary Elwell Storrs, “Emily Dickinson, 1830 – 1886,” The Springfield Republican, May 22, 1891.”
In my discussions of two of the poems, I was also able to show images of the works in their original sources; I wrote about LeRoy Phillips’ sonnet and showed an image of it in the November 1891 The New England Magazine. I wrote about G. E. Meredith’s poem and showed an image of it in the April 1891 The Literary World.
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However, when I wrote about Mary Elwell Storrs’ poem, I could not find it in its original source. I did find the poem, but I could not find it in the May 22, 1891, issue of The Springfield Republican.
I searched that edition over and over again, plus I searched through all of the April and the June 1891 issues. As I continued exploring, I came across the book “Emily Dickinson’s Reception in the 1890s,” edited by Willis J. Buckingham, and it included Mary Storrs’ poem – AND – this note: “Mary Elwell Storrs. ‘Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886.’ Springfield Sunday Republican, May 22, 1892, p. 2.” Yes, it provided a different date from the one reported by Millicent Todd Bingham.
About that same time, I was reading an article about some of Dickinson’s poems that were published in The Drum Beat, a newsletter edited by Richard Storrs, Mary’s husband. The article, HERE, was written by Mike Kelly, the head of the Archive & Special Collections at the library of Amherst College. I reached out to him to ask if he knew anything about the discrepancy: Was Mary Storrs’ poem published in May 1891 or May 1892 – and I let him know that I had been unable to find a digital copy of the May 22, 1892, issue of The Springfield Republican.
I heard back from Mr. Kelly yesterday:
I searched that edition over and over again, plus I searched through all of the April and the June 1891 issues. As I continued exploring, I came across the book “Emily Dickinson’s Reception in the 1890s,” edited by Willis J. Buckingham, and it included Mary Storrs’ poem – AND – this note: “Mary Elwell Storrs. ‘Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886.’ Springfield Sunday Republican, May 22, 1892, p. 2.” Yes, it provided a different date from the one reported by Millicent Todd Bingham.
About that same time, I was reading an article about some of Dickinson’s poems that were published in The Drum Beat, a newsletter edited by Richard Storrs, Mary’s husband. The article, HERE, was written by Mike Kelly, the head of the Archive & Special Collections at the library of Amherst College. I reached out to him to ask if he knew anything about the discrepancy: Was Mary Storrs’ poem published in May 1891 or May 1892 – and I let him know that I had been unable to find a digital copy of the May 22, 1892, issue of The Springfield Republican.
I heard back from Mr. Kelly yesterday:
Yes, indeed, he did include page 2 from the May 22, 1892, The Springfield Republican, and yes, indeed, there was Storrs’ poem.
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Interestingly, the printing includes this statement, “Written by Mary Elwell Storrs for The Sunday Republican” – AND – at the bottom of the poem, “April 1891.”
Hmm. Was the poem written in April 1891 and not printed until May 1892? Or was that 1891 date printed in error? It just seems odd to me.
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