“Give me my closet and let me write my poems”—Reading Emily Dickinson
When Charles Simic turned down a second term as the U.S. Poet Laureate he said the position took too much time away from writing poems and cited Emily Dickinson as his ideal model for a writer stating, “give me my closet and let me write my poems.” Dickinson has been a pervading influence on poetry both through her poems and the mythology surrounding her life. She serves both as model and inspiration for countless poets. In this reading and discussion group we will spend some time reading a selection of Dickinson’s poems and letters closely and addressing the such questions as: Why is her influence so wide-ranging and prominent? What can we learn from her poems for our own writing? How does form support content? How does solitude promote poetry? What can one learn from Dickinson about the writing process? or about the writing life?