I will tell the truth: I could never really understand her poems... Some of them are really beautiful, and in a personal perspective they talk to me deeply. But when I try to rationalize it... it is almost impossible. However, even the critics, the people specialized in literature have problems with it, so I'm not that bad, I guess.
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| Emily's manuscripts |
Emily Dickinson wrote most of her poems alone in her room, and she did not want much publicity, maybe she was insecure, or maybe it was difficult to be a poet during her lifetime, we don't know...
She wrote over 1.800 poems (oh my GOD!) and just few, really few of them were published in life.
As this domestic environment was almost 100% of the poets life, the University of Amherst created a museum with part of the Dickinson's family properties: the house where Emily lived and her brother's house.
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| The Homestead, 1858 lithograph |
WELCOME TO THE EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM: THE HOMESTEAD AND THE EVERGREENS!
The Emily Dickinson Museum comprises two historic houses in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts associated with the poet Emily Dickinson and members of her family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Homestead was the birthplace and home of the poet Emily Dickinson. The Evergreens, next door, was home to her brother Austin, his wife Susan, and their three children.
The Museum was created in 2003 when the two houses merged under the ownership of Amherst College. Its mission is to educate diverse audiences about Emily Dickinson’s life, family, creative work, times, and enduring relevance, and to preserve and interpret the Homestead and The Evergreens as historical resources for the benefit of scholars and the general public.
In just a few short years the Emily Dickinson Museum has established a vibrant presence and ambitious program for encouraging a broad appreciation for this remarkable poet's unparalleled work. A few of the Museum's most noteworthy accomplishments include:
- creating four distinctive tours that present the story of Emily Dickinson from a variety of engaging perspectives.
- designing lively programs--from poetry marathons and an annual 19th-century children's circus to rock concerts, lectures and hands-on workshops--to attract a wide and diverse audience.
- installing the Museum's first professionally-designed interpretive exhibit, "my Verse is alive," about the early publication of Dickinson's poetry.
- establishing a national program of intensive professional development workshops for K-12 teachers.
- completing a series of planning documents to guide long-term restoration of both historic houses and the grounds.
- restoring the Homestead's exterior to its authentic Dickinson-era color scheme.
- enhancing the mechanical systems, fire detection systems, and drainage systems to promote long-term safety and preservation of the historic houses and collections.
For those who want to know more about it, please access
http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/
And that's all folks,
Bárbara Prado
Langston Hughes was a prolific writer. In the forty-odd years between his first book in 1926 and his death in 1967, he devoted his life to writing and lecturing. He wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of "editorial" and "documentary" fiction, twenty plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts and dozens of magazine articles. In addition, he edited seven anthologies.
