May 16, 2008
After Emily Dickinson died, her sister found nearly 2,000 poems in her bureau -- and in many, she imagined herself already dead. Sean Cole took a closer look at Dickinson's legendary poem, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death."
(Originally aired: July 21, 2006)
That was the best thing I've ever heard on
this show, and I've been listening for ages and always enjoy it. [In the interest of full disclosure, I have an Emily Dickinson tattoo.] What struck me the most was hearing the story about getting overcome by the Dickinson thread. I had a very similar experience with the dresses at the Dickinson homestead in Amherst, and I'm usually an emotionless curmudgeon, making it something I won't ever forget. I'm also to hear you point that Emily Dickinson, and her poems are very sexy.
Seclude now in a casket borne
By her six hefty Irishmen –
From the backdoor
Through the barn –
Where such men daily toiled
Above her father’s expansive soil,
She asks only the thief’s request
As she is lowered in final rest –
Remember me – Remember me.
I find that Emily Dickenson has a wonderful ability to condense very important ideas in a few words of ingenious selection and combination.
I consider her the equivalent of the greatest of the Japanese Haiku poets.
Please keep your comments relevant to this entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments on Studio 360 are moderated. Studio 360 reserves the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the studio360.org Comment Guidelines before posting.
<< Back to Episode
Studio 360 is a co-production of
Public
Radio International and
WNYC New York Public Radio, and is funded in part by
Ken and Lucy Lehman, the
National Endowment for the Arts, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, and
DK Eyewitness Travel. Studio 360's American Icons series is supported in part by the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Our series on creativity and science is supported in part by the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Our series on Underground Heroes is supported in part by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. 
