THE BIG READ
The Center takes on The Big Read again this year, focusing on the poetry of Emily Dickinson. The Big Read is is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring its transformative power into the lives of its citizens.
The Big Read 2012 :: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Throughout March and April 2012 rediscover the poetry of Emily Dickinson.Born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830, Dickinson began life as an energetic, outgoing young woman who excelled in her studies. But by her mid-twenties she began to grow reclusive, rarely leaving her room in the family home. Unrecognized and virtually unpublished during her lifetime, it wasn't until after Emily's death that her poetry found a wide audience and Emily herself became the most widely read female poet in the English language.
Resources:
The Emily Dickinson Museum Website: Resources and Bibliography
Audio Guide:
An Introduction to The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Written and narrated by John Barr; Readings by Mary Jo Salter.
Part 1: The Big Read Audio Guide Part 1
Part 2: The Big Read Audio Guide Part 2
Reading Guides:
Thought provoking questions for readers/book clubs. (PDF)
Discussion questions for teachers and other educators. (PDF)
Further Reading:
Collected Poetry
Three-volume Variorum Edition of The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by R.W. Franklin (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1998). The paperback "Reading Edition" of this collection is suggested for teachers, librarians, and the general reader (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005).
Selected Poetry
Recommended editions include:
Final Harvest, edited by Thomas H. Johnson (New York: Back Bay Books, 1964)
The Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson (New York: Modern Library, 2004), which includes an introduction by Billy Collins
Essential Dickinson (New York: Ecco, 1996), which includes an introduction by Joyce Carol Oates.
Emily Dickinson's Letters
Johnson, Thomas H., ed. Emily Dickinson: Selected Letters. 1958. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986.
Biographies and Literary Criticism
Farr, Judith, with Louise Carter. The Gardens of Emily Dickinson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.
Habegger, Alfred. My Wars Are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson. New York: Modern Library, 2001.
Longsworth, Polly. The World of Emily Dickinson: A Visual Biography. New York: Norton, 1990.
Sewall, Richard B. The Life of Emily Dickinson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998 (Originally published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1974).
The Big Read Miami: Events:
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.• Friday, March 16
Big Read Kickoff with Emily! catch up with Emily Dickinson at Dadeland South, Brickell and Government Center Metrorail stations, as she recites her poems for morning commuters. Then come hang with Emily during happy hour on South Beach.
• Tuesday, March 20 at 8 p.m.
Book Club Mixer: Calling all South Florida book clubs: A little wine, a little cheese, and a free copy of The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson. What could be better than that, you ask? A Q&A with Dickinson biographer and scholar, Lyndall Gordon, of course! For book clubs only. RSVP to marketing@booksandbooks.com. Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave.,Coral Gables
• Wednesday, March 21 at 7 p.m.
Keynote Lecture by Lyndall Gordon: Celebrate the life of Emily Dickinson when Gordon, author of Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's Feuds, reveals a firestorm of family drama played out against the backdrop of Emily's carefully controlled world — from adultery, to the battles for control of her unpublished manuscripts. Miami-Dade County Public Library, Coral Gables Branch, 3443 Segovia St., Coral Gables
• Wednesday, April 4 at 10 a.m.
Arts & Letters Day at MDC Kendall Campus: Emily Dickinson (actress Barbara Dana) will read Emily's poetry and short excerpts from The Belle of Amhurst. MDC Kendall Campus, Beat Café, 11011 S.W. 104 Street, Miami
• Thursday, April 5 at 6 p.m.
The Belle of Amherst: Celebrated for her intense and sensitive portrayal of Emily Dickinson, actress Barbara Dana brings to life the iconic American poet in an unforgettable one-woman performance of The Belle of Amherst. MDC Wolfson Campus Auditorium, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Miami
• Thursday-Saturady, April 12-14 at 8 p.m.
Remembranzas de Emily (Remembering the Life of Emily Dickinson) An original play in Spanish with English supertitles. While visiting the Emily Dickinson house (now a museum), visitors are taken back to a time when it was filled with the Dickinson family. MDC Wolfson Campus, Teatro Prometeo, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Miami
• Emily's Garden: