An Emily Dickinson Poetry Friday Roundup!

 

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Irene Latham &
Lee Alexander
in conversation about
Some Starry Night.

It's been a week... celebrating a book launch and helping my mom through surgery. I added a line to the Progressive Poem and was a guest over at the Stuck Bumblebee Challenge. My sister arrives today, so... more beauty and chaos to come! Isn't that life?!

My new book Some Starry Night explores what might have happened if Emily Dickinson and Vincent van Gogh met in 1886 Paris. It's a re-imagining, as Emily never actually went to Paris or met Vincent. In actuality, she died May 15, 1886.

Two dear ones Lori Ditoro
& Paige Miller surprised
me at the launch!

But, in the land of fiction, one can make impossible dreams happen! I used "informed imagination" based on deep research to extend Emily's life by two years. (The novel largely follows Vincent's in-real-life events, though there are some variations...you can't add Emily Dickinson to someone's life and not create at least a thousand ripples!)

I so wish Emily and Vincent could have actually experienced the love, magic, and mystery they get to experience in the novel! 

One of my favorite parts of writing the novel—and certainly one of the most challenging parts—was writing poems in Emily's voice. Because OF COURSE Emily would write poems while in Paris! You can download for free the complete set of 15 "Paris" poems at my website. (There's a pop-up on the home page!)

Things to know about Emily Dickinson's poetry:

no titles

heavy use of the em-dash

common topics include nature and big themes like Death and Time

odd capitalization - usually nouns Emily wanted to personify or emphasize

some rhyme

lots of clever wordplay!

The book includes several poems (and fragments of poems) that the real Emily Dickinson wrote—what fun it was to find the just-right poems for my story! And it also features several poems I wrote for Emily. The following poem is just five lines, but super-important to the story! (No spoilers! IYKYK!) I've had it made into a wee broadside... if you'd like one, please let me know in the comments!

Listen—how the Moon bellows!

Clouds ignite—unseen Fires—

Bodies—mortal—sweep and swirl—

A starry night is made for Kisses—

and Love—Immortal—

- from Some Starry Night by Irene Latham

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And now, this week's ArtSpeak: WOMEN. Next up on the Harper's Bazaar list is Faith Ringgold. As many of you know, I love quilts, so no surprise, I've written after Faith before. And this gorgeous piece features Vincent van Gogh, so it's kinda perfect for this moment in my life! I decided to keep the poem super-short, because as awesome as April is, I know we're all a bit weary at this point... Thanks so much for reading.

Vincent at the Sunflower Quilting Bee

He offers them fifteen
faces in a vase

they lift their brown sun-
freckled cheeks

they sing
          sway
                   blaze—

for beauty, for freedom
let us praise

- Irene Latham