Great American Poems – REPOEMED Volume 2

AuthorHouse

Contents

Emmett Lee Dickinson Emily Dickinson's Third Cousin, Twice Removed (at her request).....................2-8Poetry Of Emily & Emmett Lee Dickinson...................................................................9-55Cummings' Around Again A New Look at Some Cummings' Classics............................................56-107Frost In Translation Robert Frost's Poetry Updated for the 21st Century.................................108-116

Chapter One

Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed (at her request), was born on October 12, 1803, in Washerst (pronounced "WAS-herst"), Pennsylvania.

Known as "the Boor of Washerst," Emmett Lee was the thirteenth of thirteen children. His father, Emery Dickinson, was an ice delivery man in Washerst (and is thought to be the inspiration for a title of a Eugene O'Neill play). His mother, Emalee Incross, was a cosmetician at the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor, owned by brothers Eberhard and Egan Perish and Caldwell Begone.

The Dickinson family lived in the basement of the funeral parlor, and this is possibly one reason why Emmett Lee developed an intense fear of the light (heliophobia), became a recluse, and dressed almost exclusively in shades of black. His reclusiveness might also have been brought on by a sluggish liver and biliousness.

Emmett Lee Dickinson was a prolific writer of poetry, and penned such classic poems as, "After Formal Feedings, a great pain comes," "Because I could not stop for Debt," and "There's a certain slant of Art." His poetry very likely motivated and inspired the work of his third cousin, Emily.

Inspiring Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

While spending one summer in Maine, Emmett Lee Dickinson worked at a lumber mill with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. During an unusually humid day in July, Dickinson saved Holmes' life from a freak lumber accident as the result of some indolent workers cutting trees without a properly sharpened saw. Following the mishap, Dickenson declared, "The life of the saw has not been logic; it has been experience." In other words, the tree cutters' productivity waned and their risks increased because they did not take time to sharpen their saw.

Holmes remained grateful to Dickinson throughout his life for the quick and decisive actions that saved his life. He also credited Dickinson for shaping his career and his philosophy regarding the practice of law. He cleverly paid tribute to Dickinson throughout his tenure on the bench with his thoughtful mantra, "The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience."

Coincidentally, the story of Dickinson's heroic deed in saving Holmes' life inspired Stephen Covey to write the self-help book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

A Barroom Blitz

At one point in his early twenties, Dickinson met Henry David Thoreau in Mashpee, Massachusetts. Thoreau was a pool hustler there, working all of the pool hall tables on the lower east side. Dickinson was unaware of Thoreau's reputation, so he agreed to play him in a series of games. Shortly after Dickinson lost most of his savings to Thoreau, a bar maid informed Dickinson about the swindle, and Dickinson and Thoreau ended up in a rough barroom brawl. This scuffle was immortalized in a song called "Barroom Blitz," released in 1975 by the glam rock band "Sweet." The entanglement also spawned this poem from Dickinson:

Of Purple was the outer Lid And Blacker than Black the eye Although I'm now Discolored you should Have seen the other guy.

Shortly thereafter Dickinson encountered Thoreau in a bookstore where Thoreau was working part-time as the store clerk. Dickinson was circumspect at first, but eventually spoke to Thoreau to inquire about publications with the latest and most accurate agricultural reports, particularly those concerning corn. One thing led to another, and two suddenly found themselves engaged in a fascinating conversation about nature, flora and fauna, and wildlife. The two became quick friends.

The friendship between Dickinson and Thoreau lasted for the rest of their lives, and they corresponded frequently. Thoreau was always amused with Dickinson's word play, and his favorite quip from Dickinson was, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it" (this quote is often attributed to New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra; however, Berra studied the poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson at South Side Catholic School in St. Louis, MO, and in later years, he often quoted his favorite poet).

A night in jail

When Emmett Lee's sister Esme Pearl married Hector Harbinger (pronounced HAHR-binger, not HAHR-bin-jer), Dickinson fired a gentleman's pocket flintlock pistol into the air several times after the outdoor ceremony. That evening he was arrested for "discharging a gun, cannon, revolver or other explosive weapon at a wedding," which was against Pennsylvania state law ever since the infamous MacDonald-Berger wedding disaster of 1807.

Emmett Lee appeared before Judge Dedmon Bailey and was fined $10.00. Dickinson raised his fist and yelled, Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea (the act does not make one guilty unless there be a criminal intent). Judge Bailey then doubled the fine, and Dickinson hollered out, "I refuse to pay a dollar of your unjust penalty."

Coincidentally, young Susan B. Anthony was the stenographer in the courtroom that day. Following Dickinson's outburst, she stood and shouted, Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea! At first, the perplexed judge thought Anthony was, for some unknown reason, reading back the court transcript. He later realized that she was rallying behind Dickinson's protest (a year earlier she had been fined $15.00 for firing a cannon at her cousin's bridesmaid party). Dickinson and Anthony started chanting, Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, and the judge had the two of them removed from the courtroom. He jailed them for twenty-four hours for contempt of court.

Late in his life, a package arrived in the post for Dickinson from Susan B. Anthony. It was a wall hanging on which she had embroidered the words, Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea!

An encounter with miss Mary Todd of Kentucky

Following the untimely and unfortunate death of his fifth wife, Eudora Pearl Dickinson, who plunged to her death in the Niagara River while trying to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope, Emmett Lee fell into the depths of a deep depression. He moved to Utica, New York, and worked for a short time as a child psychologist with Drs. Mezmer, Mezmer, and Spellbind. His tenure was brief, though, when he received a letter from Mortimer Trinket, the manager of the Calvert Street Theater in Baltimore. Mr. Trinket had also contacted Edgar Allan Poe, with whom Dickinson had performed in a vaudeville comedy duo known as "Izzy Sharp and Moe." Trinket was proposing a series of reunion shows, and Dickinson readily agreed. Soon he was back with Poe in Baltimore, or as it was known at the time by its nickname, "Seltzer Town."

Dickinson arrived during the stifling heat of July, but the oppressive temperature and humidity did not wilt his spirit. On the contrary, to celebrate the reunion of "Izzy Sharp and Moe," he agreed to host an old fashioned Corn Boil for all of his friends. An...