I’ve been writing about the various early publications of Emily Dickinson’s work with a focus on Millicent Todd Bingham’s 1945 edition, “Bolts of Melody.”
The publication of “Bolts of Melody” brought Dickinson’s published works to about 90% of the poet’s complete oeuvre. However, no single edition contained all of the poems; that came later in 1955 when Thomas Johnson edited “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.”
The publication of “Bolts of Melody” brought Dickinson’s published works to about 90% of the poet’s complete oeuvre. However, no single edition contained all of the poems; that came later in 1955 when Thomas Johnson edited “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.”
In 1945, Bingham made a deliberate decision to include all the fragmentary works in her possession in “Bolts of Melody,” and she wrote this:
“Not all the poems belong in the body of the book. (This volume) contains those which are incomplete, fragmentary, or trivial. It is as true to them as of all her poems that though Emily attached importance to form, she had her own rules. Some of her finished poems are rough, rugged, awkward. But that she intended. In some of these unfinished poems, however, not only is the idea obscured by the form; the idea itself is obscure – not sharp enough to pierce through the words. It may be questioned whether such groping should be published at all. Many of them will undoubtedly not appear in a final edition. But the fact remains that through some of the most confused passages shines a thought so searching that it should be preserved whatever the setting.”
In “Bolts of Melody,” there is a section titled “Poems Incomplete or Unfinished” with 23 poems. There is also a section called “Fragments” with 14 entries. The final section of the book is “Poems Personal and Occasional” with 30 poems, and then on page 333, there is one last poem, “If I should cease to bring a rose.” The poem is accompanied by this note: “This poem was chosen by Mrs. Todd (Bingham’s mother and first editor of Dickinson’s poetry) in the early nineties (i.e., the 1890s) and laid aside for eventual use as the prologue of a final series of Emily’s poems.”
“Not all the poems belong in the body of the book. (This volume) contains those which are incomplete, fragmentary, or trivial. It is as true to them as of all her poems that though Emily attached importance to form, she had her own rules. Some of her finished poems are rough, rugged, awkward. But that she intended. In some of these unfinished poems, however, not only is the idea obscured by the form; the idea itself is obscure – not sharp enough to pierce through the words. It may be questioned whether such groping should be published at all. Many of them will undoubtedly not appear in a final edition. But the fact remains that through some of the most confused passages shines a thought so searching that it should be preserved whatever the setting.”
In “Bolts of Melody,” there is a section titled “Poems Incomplete or Unfinished” with 23 poems. There is also a section called “Fragments” with 14 entries. The final section of the book is “Poems Personal and Occasional” with 30 poems, and then on page 333, there is one last poem, “If I should cease to bring a rose.” The poem is accompanied by this note: “This poem was chosen by Mrs. Todd (Bingham’s mother and first editor of Dickinson’s poetry) in the early nineties (i.e., the 1890s) and laid aside for eventual use as the prologue of a final series of Emily’s poems.”
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