William Hayes Ward joined the editorial staff of the New York Independent in 1868 and remained with the Independent thereafter, rising by degrees to editor in chief (1896–1913), and then honorary editor.
In 1890, after the debut of Emily Dickinson’s “Poems,” the paper published a review. I could not find a copy of the complete review; however, I do know that it noted that her “modest verses … [are] piquant, spirited…and are cast in no conventional mold.” It stated that the poems “bear the stamp of original genius. … there is nothing like these poems in the language.”
After the review appeared in the paper, Ward wrote to editor Mabel Loomis Todd and asked if there were other unpublished poems: “If there are any others that compare with the best ones in the volume, I should like much to publish them in The Independent.”
In the letter he stated, “I am thoroughly surprised at the excellence of the poems. I have read them over and over at my home to my sisters, and three or four of them cling in my memory. She had a real genius, and it is extraordinary that with her sense of poetic thought and her sense of metre too, she had absolutely no sense of rhyme.”
Evidently, rhyme was extremely important in the 19th century.
Anyway, in compliance with his request for additional poems, Todd and Lavinia Dickinson selected four poems to send to him in January 1891.
Within the month, Ward replied to thank her for the poems.
“Three of them I will take and print as soon as I may. They are fresh and interesting. One of them I return. It seems to me so unsatisfactory in the way the last two verses are worked up. I am afraid I fail to catch the meaning except generally.”
Which poems did he accept, which one did he return?
Stay tuned!
After the review appeared in the paper, Ward wrote to editor Mabel Loomis Todd and asked if there were other unpublished poems: “If there are any others that compare with the best ones in the volume, I should like much to publish them in The Independent.”
In the letter he stated, “I am thoroughly surprised at the excellence of the poems. I have read them over and over at my home to my sisters, and three or four of them cling in my memory. She had a real genius, and it is extraordinary that with her sense of poetic thought and her sense of metre too, she had absolutely no sense of rhyme.”
Evidently, rhyme was extremely important in the 19th century.
Anyway, in compliance with his request for additional poems, Todd and Lavinia Dickinson selected four poems to send to him in January 1891.
Within the month, Ward replied to thank her for the poems.
“Three of them I will take and print as soon as I may. They are fresh and interesting. One of them I return. It seems to me so unsatisfactory in the way the last two verses are worked up. I am afraid I fail to catch the meaning except generally.”
Which poems did he accept, which one did he return?
Stay tuned!
CONTINUED...
In late 1890, William Hayes Ward, an editor of The Independent in New York, published a favorable review of Emily Dickinson’s Poems (published posthumously); he then wrote to the book’s editor Mabel Loomis Todd and requested additional poems for his paper to publish.
In January 1891, Todd sent him four poems, and within the month, Ward replied:
“Three of them I will take and print as soon as I may. They are fresh and interesting. One of them I return. It seems to me so unsatisfactory in the way the last two verses are worked up. I am afraid I fail to catch the meaning except generally.”
Which poems did he accept, which one did he return?
The rejected poem (“if my memory does not fail me,” wrote Todd’s daughter Millicent Todd Bingham in “Ancestors’ Brocades, the Literary Debut of Emily Dickinson”) was “Of tribulation these are they.”
Below: "Of Tribulation, these are they." Why did Dickinson misspell "ankle" as "ancle"? I'll look into that in the coming days.
In late 1890, William Hayes Ward, an editor of The Independent in New York, published a favorable review of Emily Dickinson’s Poems (published posthumously); he then wrote to the book’s editor Mabel Loomis Todd and requested additional poems for his paper to publish.
In January 1891, Todd sent him four poems, and within the month, Ward replied:
“Three of them I will take and print as soon as I may. They are fresh and interesting. One of them I return. It seems to me so unsatisfactory in the way the last two verses are worked up. I am afraid I fail to catch the meaning except generally.”
Which poems did he accept, which one did he return?
The rejected poem (“if my memory does not fail me,” wrote Todd’s daughter Millicent Todd Bingham in “Ancestors’ Brocades, the Literary Debut of Emily Dickinson”) was “Of tribulation these are they.”
Below: "Of Tribulation, these are they." Why did Dickinson misspell "ankle" as "ancle"? I'll look into that in the coming days.
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The three which he accepted were “I held a jewel in my fingers,” “God made a little gentian,” and “Went up a year this evening.
All three of these poems were included in the Second Series of “Poems” published later in that year (click the images below to enlarge).
All three of these poems were included in the Second Series of “Poems” published later in that year (click the images below to enlarge).
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I'll look into these three poems in the coming days.
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