In the winter of 2013, I created my Dickinson website devoted to the life and work of Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request. Then in May of that year, I created a “plog” (poetry blog) on the site. The first post, HERE, announced that my plog was “coming soon." My first post beyond that announcement is HERE:
Back in the day, I was also on Twitter, and that was how I would promote my site and plog. However, when Melon Husk took over and allowed hate speech and disinformation to proliferate, I deleted my account. I wanted no part of that.
At that time, I joined Counter Social, and in November 2022 I published my first #DickinsonDaily post. For the most part, the posts are daily – except when I’m travelling – and today marks my 1000th post on CS.
Hmm. Based on the fact that this is my 1,000th post and my site has been active since 2013, I suppose some could argue that I’m obsessed with Dickinson? But hey—it keeps me off the streets.
With today’s post, I have one loose end to tie up. Back on December 11th, I began a discussion of Joseph Rodman Drake’s poem “The American Flag,” and I promised that on the 12th I would share “something a bit odd that I found.”
Well, days have gone by, and I never shared that “something a bit odd” – so there’s no better time than the present to do so! To be honest, the thing itself is not really all that odd – but there was something a bit odd within it.
What is “it”? “It” is a list of 19th century American poets on Wikipedia (HERE). Since I’d been writing about Joseph Rodman Drake, Fitz-Green Halleck, and other unknown poets, I wondered who these people were -- so I explored poets from the time period. I found a list of American poets and was surprised that there were more than 800 names.
Wow – over 800 names! How many did I know? Well, only a handful at best.
I ran a quick check over the first page of 200-plus names, and I recognized just a few – Louisa May Alcott, William Cullen Bryant, Stephen Crane, Emily Dickinson, maybe one or two others. This is where the odd part comes in.
Down at the bottom of the A to D list on that first page, in addition to Emily Dickinson, the inventory included Edward Dickinson (her father) and Austin and Lavinia Dickinson (her brother and sister). Huh? THEY are 19th century American poets? It’s true that her father never forbade her from writing poetry, and Austin and Lavinia had a hand in helping to get Emily’s poetry published – but should that earn them spots on this list? And if they are on the list, are there other non-poets there?
I clicked on a few names at random and found some pretty interesting stuff – but I’ll get to that in the coming days. The point I’ll make today – to conclude my 1000th post – is that poets will come and go (as will the tide of actors, composers, dancers, artists – and ploggers) -- but who will survive the test of time?
Who will having lasting power over time to remain connected to the human spirit and psyche? Who will create innovative forms and reach such raw emotion and symbolic depth enough to persist over time? Who will cover and develop universal themes across cultures and psychological experiences like love, loss and identify so that their work continues over the years to speak to the essence and energy that resides in each of us?
I believe Emily Dickinson will remain among those few who endure.
Back in the day, I was also on Twitter, and that was how I would promote my site and plog. However, when Melon Husk took over and allowed hate speech and disinformation to proliferate, I deleted my account. I wanted no part of that.
At that time, I joined Counter Social, and in November 2022 I published my first #DickinsonDaily post. For the most part, the posts are daily – except when I’m travelling – and today marks my 1000th post on CS.
Hmm. Based on the fact that this is my 1,000th post and my site has been active since 2013, I suppose some could argue that I’m obsessed with Dickinson? But hey—it keeps me off the streets.
With today’s post, I have one loose end to tie up. Back on December 11th, I began a discussion of Joseph Rodman Drake’s poem “The American Flag,” and I promised that on the 12th I would share “something a bit odd that I found.”
Well, days have gone by, and I never shared that “something a bit odd” – so there’s no better time than the present to do so! To be honest, the thing itself is not really all that odd – but there was something a bit odd within it.
What is “it”? “It” is a list of 19th century American poets on Wikipedia (HERE). Since I’d been writing about Joseph Rodman Drake, Fitz-Green Halleck, and other unknown poets, I wondered who these people were -- so I explored poets from the time period. I found a list of American poets and was surprised that there were more than 800 names.
Wow – over 800 names! How many did I know? Well, only a handful at best.
I ran a quick check over the first page of 200-plus names, and I recognized just a few – Louisa May Alcott, William Cullen Bryant, Stephen Crane, Emily Dickinson, maybe one or two others. This is where the odd part comes in.
Down at the bottom of the A to D list on that first page, in addition to Emily Dickinson, the inventory included Edward Dickinson (her father) and Austin and Lavinia Dickinson (her brother and sister). Huh? THEY are 19th century American poets? It’s true that her father never forbade her from writing poetry, and Austin and Lavinia had a hand in helping to get Emily’s poetry published – but should that earn them spots on this list? And if they are on the list, are there other non-poets there?
I clicked on a few names at random and found some pretty interesting stuff – but I’ll get to that in the coming days. The point I’ll make today – to conclude my 1000th post – is that poets will come and go (as will the tide of actors, composers, dancers, artists – and ploggers) -- but who will survive the test of time?
Who will having lasting power over time to remain connected to the human spirit and psyche? Who will create innovative forms and reach such raw emotion and symbolic depth enough to persist over time? Who will cover and develop universal themes across cultures and psychological experiences like love, loss and identify so that their work continues over the years to speak to the essence and energy that resides in each of us?
I believe Emily Dickinson will remain among those few who endure.
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