Shelf Life

For the past many weeks I’ve been writing about books, old books (from the 1910s and 20s), antique books (from the 1700s and late 1500s), odd books (one included “excerpts” from “Because I could not stop for Death), textbooks, bookstores (near and far), public libraries (local as well as from New York, Chicago, and Boston), the UVA Shannon Library, and the UVA Small Special Collections Library, so for today...

...something complete the same:

One last post on Dickinson books from the shelves of UVA's Shannon Library (or perhaps I should say, “one more” post).  Then tomorrow, before taking a hiatus, I’ll give the latest update on the missing – or at least “unaccounted for” – first-edition book signed by Lavinia Dickinson that I discovered in said library.  Then yes, dear reader, I will be on break while traveling, so no daily posts until about mid-month. 

In prepping for todays post, I stumbled upon a very nice public library site from Westlake, Ohio (HERE), and one of their pages provided a list of “several films across genres that feature libraries in a starring role” (HERE):

• The Philadelphia Story
• Desk Set
• Strike Up the Band
• Party Girl
• The Public
• The Day After Tomorrow
• The Music Man
• The Breakfast Club

 
Of course, the inspiration for “The Breakfast Club” was “The Breakout Club,” featuring big names from the 1800s and a classic library scene:

So now let’s roll the tape of some of the highlights I pulled from the Dickinson shelves from one of my recent visits to Shannon Library (formerly Alderman Library) on the grounds of the University of Virginia.

Left:  UVA's Shannon Library (formerly Alderman).  Right:  On the fifth floor looking down into the fourth floor. 

First I was pleased to see Genevieve Taggard's biography The Life and Mind of Emily Dickinson.  Here's some back story:

This past summer, I traveled to New York City; while there I visited the main NYPL on Fifth Avenue to peruse The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson published in 1924. I was checking out something to do with "Because I could not stop for Death."  To be honest, I thought I'd get the book, snap a few pics, and be on my way.  However, when I saw that the owner of the book had written margin notes throughout the book, I was intrigued.  These were not trivial notes like, "Nice poem" or "Great word choice."  No, the first comment -- about "Success is counted sweetest" -- said, "Higginson note in Masque of Poets 'altered probably by Mrs. Helen Hunt.'"  Of course, the occasional reader of Dickinson would not  even know what that means, but my first thought was, "Whoa...who owned this book because they know there stuff."  I wrote about it HERE.  Turns out that Genevieve Taggard owned the book.  Info on Taggard is HERE. 

Below is a closeup of the stamp on the top right on the page shown to the left.  It states, "Purchased Jul 20 '30" -- the year the book was published, 1930. 

Below left and center:  Taggard's dedication  (plus, I've posted the text of the dedication below the pics.  Below right:  One example of a Dickinson manuscript Taggard included in the book. 

Next up, MacGregor Jenkins' Emily Dickinson, Friend and Neighbor.  MacGregor Jenkins was, indeed a "friend and neighbor" of Dickinson's -- albeit as a child when she was an adult.  I've written about Jenkins and his book before (one post, for example, is HERE), and interestingly, he is one of just two people who have published books who actually knew Dickinson when she was alive.  The other author who actually knew Dickinson was the poet's neice, Martha Dickinson Bianchi, who wrote Emily Dickinson, Face to Face.  

I read Jenkins' book years ago, and I could not remember who "Did" was -- named in the dedication along with "Mattie" (who was Dickinson's niece, Martha).  I looked into it, and "Did" was the nickname of MacGregor's sister, Sally. 

Next, we have This Brief Tragedy, Unraveling the Todd-Dickinson Affair, by John Evangelist Walsh, published in 1991. 

I thumbed through the book, and one nice feature is that it includes pics from the past that aren't the same ordinary pics and portraits one sees in books about Dickinson and her family.   I've shared a few below.  Click on the images to enlarge. 

Here's something strange: While at the library, I just thumbed through the book, took a few pics, and moved on -- and as you can see, the hard cover book had no book jacket; however, when exploring the book online, I found this -- supposedly the text from the book jacket: 

Dear cousins, Called back. Emily. Why did Emily Dickinson write this cryptic note to her spinster cousins just before she died? In this arresting, even startling re-evaluation of the poet's final years -- and her posthumous career -- John Evangelist Walsh examines the effect of several tragedies that struck Dickinson in the last four years of her life: the illicit love affair between her brother, Austin, and a young married woman, Mabel Todd; the deaths of her nephew Gilbert and her adored Judge Otis Lord (who may have been the "Master" of her middle years); and the Bright's disease that made her an invalid. The combination of these afflictions, Walsh demonstrates, may have led Emily to take her own life. 

Say whhaat?  I've not heard that assertion before. 

Finally, here's a copy of Thomas Johnson's profile of the poet, Emily Dickinson, An Interpretive Biography.  I include this one as a reminder that Johnson did more than compile and edit her letters and poems in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson and (with Theodora Ward)  The Letters of Emily Dickinson.  He penned this text, many articles and much more. ​

Above on the right:  Check out Chapter VI in Part Two, "The Business of Circumference."  That title refers to a line from a letter from Dickinson to Higginson in July 1862 where she wrote this:

Will you tell me my fault, frankly as to yourself, for I had rather wince, than die. Men do not call the surgeon, to commend - the Bone, but to set it, Sir, and fracture within, is more critical. And for this, Preceptor, I shall bring you-Obedience-the Blossom from my Garden, and every gratitude I know. Perhaps you smile at me. I could not stop for that - My Business is Circumference - An ignorance, not of Customs, but if caught with the Dawn - or the Sunset see me - Myself the only Kangaroo among the Beauty, Sir, if you please, it afflicts me, and I thought that instruction would take it away.

Below left and center:  The opening to Johnson's chapter, "The Business of Circumference."  Below right: Check out the title of the book:  Circumference and Circumstance: Stages in the Mind and Art of Emily Dickinson by William R. Sherwood, (published in 1968).

That's it for now -- just a quick taste of what on the shelves at Shannon on Dickinson.  There's much more!  One of these days I'll get back there, and I'll highlight a few more!