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Featured Literary
Artist: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Who should I feature
in this month’s newsletter?
I struggle with the question,
as a myriad of ideas flash
through my mind. I decide on
a poet. Yet there are so many
great ones. Who shall it be?
Serendipitously, her words
appear when I pick up a book
sitting on my end table. Short,
direct, lyrical, sweet. Her
rhythm and rhyme are enveloped
in breathless poetic pauses. I
dwell in Possibility – ah
yes; Dickinson was a master
of possibility, a 19th century
woman who defied societies
rules.
It is speculated that Emily
Dickinson, rejected in her
30’s by the recipients of
her love letters, pulled
deep within herself after
feeling abandoned by them.
Retreating to the bedroom
of her family home in Amherst,
Massachusetts, Emily escaped
the social conventions of
her day-to-day world to do
what she loved best -- write.
Some call her eccentric for
doing so; others believe
that this choice enabled
her to become one of the
most innovative poets of
her time.
According to Suzanne Juhasz,
author of The Landscape
of the Spirit:
Dickinson did not choose
to be a ‘normal’ woman, even
as she did not try to pretend
that she was a man. She did
not choose to live where
men live, in the public world,
or where women live, in the
domestic world. She found
another place, at once more
private and expansive than
either of those others: the
mind.
By saying “no” to convention,
Dickinson expanded the realm
of poetic possibilities for
the world. She opened a doorway
to change, writing off-rhymes
and shockingly concise stanzas
filled with dashes and misplaced
capital letters. The critics
didn’t like it, at first,
so it’s no surprise that
only 10 of her 1775 poems
were published while she
was alive. She never experienced
fame or fortune, but this
amazingly talented woman
did exactly what she wanted
to do.
Are you doing what you want?
Are you dwelling in possibility
or has convention and society’s
standards led your astray?
If you’re uncertain of the
answer or struggling with
the question, it might be
time for you to retreat and
take a well-deserved poetic
pause.
 Escape
from the land of convention
into paradise. It will only
take a moment to read Emily
Dickinson’s poem -- I Dwell
in Possibility.
I dwell in Possibility--
A fairer House than Prose--
More numerous of Windows--
Superior--for Doors--
Of Chambers as the Cedars--
Impregnable of Eye--
And for an Everlasting
Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky--
Of Visitors--the fairest--
For Occupation--This--
The spreading wide my narrow
Hands
To gather Paradise--
 If
you’re heading to New England
for your summer vacation, you
might want to stop by the Emily
Dickinson Museum: The Homestead
and the Evergreens in
Amherst, MA. Or visit virtually
at www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org.
Seeking knowledge of Emily
Dickinson’s life and poetry?
View Voices & Visions:
Emily Dickinson,
at www.learner.org/catalog/extras/vvspot/,
a film that highlights the
“passionate genius of this
unconventional recluse,”
with commentary by Adrienne
Rich and Joyce Carol Oates.
Delve deep into The
Complete Poems of Emily
Dickinson,
the only one-volume collection
containing all 1775 of
her works. For an excellent
critical review of Dickinson’s
work, read Emily
Dickinson: A Collection
of Critical Essays,
edited by Judith Farr.
I highly recommend Suzanne’s Juhasz’s
The Landscape of the
Spirit. Explore
these and other titles
at www.amazon.com.
Phyllis signs A
Journey of My Choosing: Traveling
the
Creative Path of Life, May
20, 8:00 p.m., at ‘Books
that Inspire Us’ discussion
at Barnes & Noble,
7660 North Point Pkwy, Alpharetta,
GA. To learn more, contact
Phyllis at pcarrera@humanarts.biz or Bob Meier at Bmeier@adelphia.net.
Or better yet, just drop by!
Attention
Atlanta diners! Experience
foreign cuisine in your own
backyard at the Around-the-World
Dinner Series, beginning
Tues, Jun 15 at Eclipse
di Luna,
6:30 p.m. Each month’s gathering
will feature music, dance,
or cooking tips from Spain,
Germany, Turkey, and Bali,
along with dinner conversation
spotlighting a Souvenir
of Self-Discovery™ from
Phyllis’ journey. Enjoy Framenco
guitar by Sasha and delectable
Spanish
tapas in the company of new
friends in June. Future venues
include Vreny’s Biergarten,
Duluth, Jul 14; Efi’s Turkish
Cuisine, Marietta, Aug 12;
and Indah Bali, Atlanta,
Sept 16. No charge, other
than your
meal. For more information,
or to reserve your space,
contact Phyllis at pcarrera@humanarts.biz or 404-352-0340.
Victim’s Assistance
Training Conference,
hosted by the Criminal
Justice Coordinating
Council, Atlanta, GA, May
25-26. Phyllis
will conduct two breakout
sessions, including “Beyond
Burnout: Self-Renewal
Strategies” and “Leading
With Integrity.” Visit www.state.ga.us/cjcc/events.html for
additional information.
Women Power,
Panel Discussion and
Book Signing, Jun
11, American Association
of University Women,
South Atlantic/Southeast
Central Conference, Georgia
Tech Hotel & Conference
Center, Atlanta, GA.
Phyllis joins with best
selling authors Gail
Evans and Fawn Germer
to share her writing
experience. For more
information, visit www.onedomain.com/aauw.
Crisis or Choice:
Which Do You Choose? Phyllis
delivers the closing
keynote at Credit
Professional International
2004 Conference,
Atlanta, GA, June
20. Visit www.creditprofessionals.org for
additional information.
Voice
Dialogue Level I Training,
Aug 27-30,
Atlanta,
GA. If
you are a therapist,
coach, spiritual counselor,
executive
or organization change
agent desiring to help
client’s
and/or employees transform
polarity
thinking into balanced
choice and focused
action, learn
more about a profound
psycho-spiritual approach
to consciousness
that
compassionately integrates
our many sub-personalities
and shifts unconscious
archetypal bonding
patterns. Visit www.delos-inc.com or email pcarrera@humanarts.biz for additional information.
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Click here to explore “A
Journey…”
Quotes by Emily
Dickinson
The
Soul selects her own
Society –
Then – shuts the Door –
To her divine Majority –
Present no more –
That
it will never come
again
Is what makes life so sweet.
We
turn not older with
the years,
But newer everyday.
Anger
as soon as fed is dead
–
‘Tis starving makes it fat.
There
is no frigate like
a book
To take us lands away.
Success
is countest sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed.
My
friends are my estates.
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