Poetry in the parlor

Amherst Arts Night Plus – May 2, 2019

Amherst Arts Night PlusMay Featured Readers

Hampshire College students of Professor Thuy Le Diem share their original compositions from the course, ‘Emily Dickinson’s Radical Poetics’.

Winners of the Five College Poetry Fest:

Olivia Caldwell is a Division II student at Hampshire College studying Poetry, Photography, and Sociocultural Anthropology. She is a pun enthusiast and cat mom who spends much of her time watching mid-2000s dramatic television and considering the fate of humanity. Her work can be found in Forest For The Trees Literary Journal and Enigma Literary Magazine.

Mars Early-Hubelbank is a soon-to-be graduate of Mount Holyoke College. Their identity lies at an intersection of Blackness and transness, to name a few things.

Lucy Liu studies studio art and poetry at Smith College. She grew up in Beijing, speaking and writing in English and Chinese.


Poetry in the parlor

First Thursday poetry readings at the Homestead

The Emily Dickinson Museum participates in Amherst Arts Night Plus on first Thursdays each month. Free and open to all! Each month enjoy the following:

  • 5PM-8PM View the pop-up exhibition of contemporary art in the Homestead
  • 5 to 6 pm: Open mic signups for poets, writers, performers of any kind. Share your work in a safe, welcoming, and inspiring place!
  • 6 pm: Open mic begins
  • Featured readers follow the open mic

Please note that the works of guest artists may contain sensitive or mature material and do not necessarily represent the views of the Emily Dickinson Museum.

fascicle of some of Emily's poems bound with string

Writer’s Workshop: “First — Poets — Then the Sun —”

Tuesday, April 30 from 5-7 PM or Sunday, May 5 from 4-6 PM

Emily Dickinson—when she counted at all—counted poets first. In this intimate poetry workshop held during private hours at the Emily Dickinson Museum, be inspired by the space and place that informed Dickinson’s own revolutionary poetic voice. Adult writers of any level and degree of experience are welcome to participate in this workshop facilitated by poet and writing coach Burleigh Muten. A private tour and prompts based on Dickinson’s life and work will guide the workshop. Participants will spend time writing poetry in the historic rooms of the Dickinson Homestead, including the poet’s bedroom. Snacks will be provided.

PLEASE NOTE: SUNDAY, MAY 5 WORKSHOP IS FULL. ROOM REMAINS FOR THE TUESDAY WORKSHOP. (4/17)
  • The participation fee is $40 per person.
  • Workshop is offered twice, participants choose one date
  • Advance reservation is required and space is limited
  • To register please e-mail EDMPrograms@EmilyDickinsonMuseum.org and indicate your workshop date preference.

This program is offered as part of ArtWeek, presented by the Highland Street Foundation and produced by the Boch Center.

Burleigh Muten reads

Burleigh Muten reads

About the Facilitator: Burleigh Muten is a tour guide at the Emily Dickinson Museum and the author of Miss Emily a verse novel for young readers that celebrates the poet’s playful relationships with the children in her life. Muten is also a poet, a writing coach, and has led writing workshops and retreats for adults throughout New England. Visit Burleigh’s website: https://www.burleighmuten.com

 

 

Lettering on a sidewalk washed by rain

The Art of Rain Poetry

Proud Event Host of ArtWeek

In celebration of ArtWeek and National Poetry Month, the Emily Dickinson Museum will make poetry come to life when it rains in Amherst. See if you can spot all six selected poems around town from our Art of Rain Poetry competition. We promise these compositions will make even a soggy stroll delightful. As you discover the rain poems, be sure to snap a photo and tag it on social media with #ArtofRainPoetry !

Poems were selected after a call for submissions. Our thanks to the nearly 80 poets who sent in poems!

ANNOUNCING THE ART OF RAIN POETS:

Jill Hughes is a reader, seeker, observer of the humanities. She is a career student and apprentice, as well as a current co-owner at Collective Copies and Levellers Press. In 2017, she received her MA in Poetry and Poetics from the University of Maine, where she also co-founded a multidisciplinary performance series called The Happenings Series.

Loy Kong, a five-year-old student at Crocker Farm Elementary, has been in Amherst since last August. This is the first time that she has been in another country. She played alone for the first few months because of the language barrier, but she has always stayed positive and said, “Mommy, don’t worry. It is going to be ok.” Now she has good friends and she is so happy about that. She loves learning new things and writing poems.

Manuel Becerra is a Mexican poet who is working on a poetry book about Emily Dickinson. He is the author of five books and has won numerous national and international literature awards. His work has been translated into English, French and Italian. Becerra held a fellowship at Art Omi in New York, 2018. Find more of his poems here.

Margaret Winikates is a poet, author, and museum educator from Boston, MA.  She majored in English Literature and Language at Harvard University.  She currently works for the New England Museum Association, is a board member for the Museum Education Roundtable, and is a member of the Leadership Council for MassCreative.  Her poems, essays, and short fiction can be found at MassPoetry’s U35 archive, all the sins, the Center for the Future of Museums,  Window Cat Press, Connected at the Peabody Essex Museum, and Zetetic: A Record of Unusual Inquiry, as well as at https://mwinikates.com/

 Howie Faerstein is a poet whose second full-length poetry collection, Googootz and Other Poems, published by Press 53 came out in September, 2018. His work can be found in numerous journals, including Great River ReviewNimrod, CutthroatUpstreetOff the CoastCape Cod Poetry Review, Mudfish, and on-line in Gris-Gris, and Connotation Press. He lives in Florence, Massachusetts. 

HOW TO FIND RAIN POEMS:
Use the map below to find the poems on a rainy day!

 Our Partners:

About Art Week: Presented by the Highland Street Foundation and produced by the Boch Center, ArtWeek is an annual award-winning innovative festival featuring more than 500 unique and creative experiences that are hands-on, interactive or offer behind-the-scenes access to artists or the creative process. ArtWeek was born in Boston in 2013 and now serves over 100 towns across Massachusetts as the signature nonprofit community program of the Boch Center.           

About Mass Poetry: Mass Poetry believes that words matter. They support poets and poetry in Massachusetts, help to broaden the audience of poetry readers, bring poetry to readers of all ages, and transform people’s lives through inspiring verse. They are a 501(c)(3) organization.

A Christmas tree in the Evergreens

A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons

Date: December 19, 2015
Time: 11AM, 1PM, 2PM
Cost: $20 adults; $10 museum members; $5 for students grades K-12.

On this special family-friendly visit, revel in holiday traditions as we trace the history of Christmas celebrations in the two Dickinson households. A Museum guide will serve as your host for this unique exploration through the Homestead and The Evergreens. Evocative decorations, seasonal music, and new objects on exhibit will delight your holiday senses, and the words of Emily Dickinson and her family will bring their Christmas experiences to life. Each visit concludes with an intimate reading in The Evergreens from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by award-winning author and Dickens fan Tony Abbott!Read more

Emily Dickinson's famous coconut cake

Emily Dickinson’s Birthday Celebration and Open House

Date: December 12, 2015
Time: 1-4PM
Location: The Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street, Amherst MA

The 185th birthday of the poet coincides with the completion of the bedroom restoration at the Emily Dickinson Museum. On December 12 join us from 1PM-4PM to celebrate with an open house at the Museum. All are welcome and no admission fee or reservations required.Read more

The Homestead's cupola and the moon

Amherst Art Walk Poetry Night with Tom Daley

Date: February 8, 2019
Time: 5 – 8 p.m.
Location: Homestead Parlor

The Emily Dickinson Museum hosts poet Tom Daley for our monthly Amherst Art Walk poetry night from 5 to 8 pm. Daley will read from his new collection, House You Cannot Reach-Poems in the Voice of My Mother and Other Poems, beginning at 6:45 pm in the Homestead parlor. $5 “Twilight Highlight” tours of the Homestead will also be offered from 5 to 6:30 pm.

Tom Daley was last at the Museum for the 2014 Amherst Poetry Festival, where he performed his Dickinson-themed play Every Broom and Bridget. A machinist for over two decades, Daley now leads writing workshops in the Boston area and online. Recipient of the Dana Award in Poetry and the Charles and Fanny Fay Wood Prize from the Academy of American Poets, his poetry has appeared in Harvard Review, Massachusetts Review, Fence, Denver Quarterly, Crazyhorse, Barrow Street, Prairie Schooner, Witness, and Poetry Ireland Review.

The Evergeens house in winter with snow on the ground

Poetry Discussion Group 2015-2016

Third Fridays, noon – 2 p.m.
September through May (No meeting in December)

The Emily Dickinson Museum’s Poetry Discussion group meets on the 3rd Friday of each month from September through May (except for December) for lively conversation about Emily Dickinson’s poetry and letters. Featured facilitators each month offer fresh perspectives on Dickinson’s poetry.

Location: The Poetry Discussion Group meets at the Center for Humanistic Inquiry, on the second floor of Frost Library. Attendees are welcome to bring a bag lunch; beverages and a sweet snack are provided.

Fee: The fee for Museum members is $12/session; the fee for non-members is $15/session. Season subscriptions are $75 for Museum members and $100 for non-members. To become a Friend of the Emily Dickinson Museum and enjoy member discounts, click here.

For more information, contact the Program Department: edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org or call (413) 542-2034.Read more

The Aspect of the Place Poster

The Aspect of the Place: A Halloween Happening at The Evergreens

Wednesday-Sunday, October 28-November 1, 2015
Shows at 6:30PM and 8:00PM

One need not be a Chamber — to be Haunted —
-Emily Dickinson

the past hath its phantoms,
More real than solid earth
-Isabella Banks

Get into the spirit of Halloween with this story-telling celebration of ghosts and all things Gothic at The Evergreens. Co-produced by The Emily Dickinson Museum & TheatreTruck, a roving collaborative, The Aspect of the Place takes the audience through The Evergreens, the home of Austin Dickinson’s family and a ‘time capsule’ of prosperous nineteenth-century life in a small New England town. The house is furnished with Dickinson family furniture, household accoutrements, and decor selected and displayed by the family during the nineteenth century. The piece honors the House, the spooky delights of Victorian ghost stories, and the idea that phantoms walk within. ​

TheatreTruck and the Emily Dickinson Museum partnered this summer to produce a sold-out run of The Emily Dickinson Project, attracting audiences from all over the Pioneer Valley, the nation and even the UK! TheatreTruck is dedicated to crafting mobile and site-specific performance sustainably & playfully, and the museum is delighted to partner with them.

Each performance lasts one hour.

Teachers at the Emily Dickinson museum

Teacher Tuesday

Date: October 20, 2015

Time: 4-6PM

Location: Emily Dickinson Museum

280 Main Street, Amherst, MA

The Emily Dickinson Museum’s first Teacher Tuesday takes place Tuesday, October 20, from 4 to 6 pm. All educators are invited to this free program where you’ll have the run of the Emily Dickinson Museum. Make an herbarium, read or write in Emily’s bedroom, try your hand at our reverse scavenger hunt, and enjoy some gingerbread and cider. Whether you teach American Literature, Visual Arts, or Science – there’s something for you here. Come get to know us a little better and let the museum inspire your next project with your students. We hope you’ll join us!

This is a free program and no RSVP is required. Participants are welcome to come for any portion of the program they’re able.

A Letter from Dickinson to Mrs. Ward

Before You Became Improbable

An immersive journey through the Dickinson-Higginson correspondence

Dates: September 17-19 and 24-26

Location: Begins and ends at The Emily Dickinson Museum, downtown Amherst

“A unique, phenomenal, and deeply treasured experience.”

— Len Berkman, Smith College Professor of Theater

It took eight years of correspondence before T.W. Higginson arrived in Amherst to meet his elusive advisee, Emily Dickinson. Before You Became Improbable reimagines the day of that meeting, offering audience members an encounter with her words and poems in a remarkably personal theatrical experience. This immersive journey returns to the Emily Dickinson Museum in September after a sold-out 2014 run.Read more