Dickinsonian Revelations
I got the American 19th century literary kick of my life this week, when my husband sent me an article that is no doubt the main subject on the tongues and minds of Dickinson scholars right now. Turns out the mystery of Emily Dickinson's enigmatic poetry and life is in reality quite ordinary: she was engaged (shocker!) to a poor but bright Amherst student, George Gould. Her father intervened in the classic Wimpole Street fashion, she pined away while he traveled to Europe, he came back, he married, she went mad with romantic grief and began writing poetry. Ohhh ok: so that's why her poetry exploded in a flurry of morbidity in the early 1860's (he married in 1862), one might say. Perhaps. As to wearing white and secluding herself in her father's home, that's still in question, still an intriguing anecdote that no one can really pin down.
Before I say anything else, I should mention that I love Dickinson. Her poetry, her life, her circumstances were by no means flowery, but it provides a backdrop to what I consider a dark, remote time in Eastern American history. It's the fodder for gothic-esque novels and films. I read the original article in the New England Quarterly (you can download it, for $10.00 unfortunately, at the MIT Press Journals site). They will no doubt do a movie on this, since the elements for the perfect tale examining her pre-creative years (much like Becoming Jane did with Jane Austen's young love story) and love affair are all there. There is, admittedly, only the basic information to build upon, leaving the writers an easy task for fictionalizing the script.
Georgian England...it's where I want to be.
I saw The Duchess last night, with Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. Simply wanted to say that I adored it, it was everything I expected, something that is rare for me when it comes to film. I have high standards, what can I say. 8)
Glass, Warhol, and Brando...yes, this has a point!
The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is teaming with CPCC this November 14th for a concert I am thrilled about: Phillip Glass' String Symphony No. 3, coupled with scenes from the film On the Waterfront and paintings of Andy Warhol, intertwined with Leonard Bernstein's score from the film. 20th century expression at its finest. Readings from Jack Kerouac is the only thing wanting. Remember the days when respected composers created soundtracks for film? Bernstein, Copland, even Rachmaninoff threw in something now and again. Glass is probably the only one who has achieved this, albeit discreetly: the score for the existential-ish, long-forgotten comedy The Truman Show was a product of his repetitive melodies. John Williams, Howard Shore and others have built their reputations upon writing exclusively for film, not vice versa. Nothing wrong with that, however!
Can't buy me loooooovvee!....
Remember my article from last November, when I waxed ecstatic about the tribute Beatles band, Rain? Well, they're coming back to Charlotte in a matter of weeks. This time, I'll bring my parents along and they can have a flashback to their youth. ;-)
That's it for now. Don't forget: read, sing, soar and inspire. Life is too lovely to waste it on Wii!
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