The Emily Dickinson Museum’s Poetry Discussion Group meets monthly, September through May, for lively conversation about Emily Dickinson’s poetry and letters.
Location: The Center for Humanistic Inquiry, on the second floor of Amherst College’s Frost Library.
Time: 12pm to 2pm (plan to arrive early to check in)
- $12 Friends, $15 Public
- Participants should proceed directly to the Library and do not need to stop at the Museum.
- While no RSVP is required, participants are invited to email edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org to receive a list of poems for discussion. Poems will be distributed one week in advance of the program.
- Attendees are welcome to bring a bag lunch. Beverages and a sweet snack are provided
This month’s discussion will center on poems that highlight the bee as protagonist or speaker. Because of her fascination with botany and the garden, Dickinson constantly transformed the figure of the bee. Bees are viewed in various guises, including artists, pirates, gentle or jealous lovers, and even cheerful correspondents. This program will unpack how a poet (or anyone) can view one creature through many lenses.
Facilitator: Susan Goldwitzis an award-winning poet who, after teaching literature on the university level, has expanded her expected circumference to include a new passion, beekeeping, which she has practiced for eight years. She is continually inspired by Emily Dickinson’s ability to view this one little creature in many aspects.