Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Recluse of Amherst

I had fun participating in a seminar discussion of a couple of Emily Dickinson poems today, with young people.

I forget how hard she is to understand. I developed a strange affection for her in high school. And I took a college course that was devoted to her poetry. So things look obvious to me... that just aren't.

Her style is rather elliptic
descending at times into cryptic.

I'm not actually in love with the cryptic aspect. I prefer clarity. But I do enjoy the shortness of her poems.

She's known for her brevity,
not for her levity.

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