For those of you participating in (or following the discussion on) the Big Other book club, we’re going to be reading and discussing Helen Vendler’s Dickinson: Selected Poems and Commentaries in November. So we thought you might be interested in a little sneak-peek, if you will: a really terrific podcast by Thoughtcast, featuring host Jenny Attiyeh’s recent conversation with Vendler about Dickinson.
In it, Vendler talks about her longtime relationship with Dickinson’s work, and gives a close reading of “I Cannot Live Without You.” I wasn’t familiar with Thoughtcast before now; it’s a great site featuring a bunch of interviews with fascinating artists and intellectuals. Good stuff. I plan to add some podcasts to my bus ride rotation.
Enjoy! And meet you back here in November for pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and Emily Dickinson.
I like how blunt Vendler is in saying she doesn’t “identify” with Dickinson and her “mathematical, geometrical and precise mind.” Who does she identify with? Wallace Stevens.
I know, Greg! I loved that. That made me happy. I feel so much the same way.
Also, that comment sort of crystallized for me why I’ve always identified more with John Clare more than William Blake. Not the same comparison at all in terms of style, but the concept is the same.
On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 11:13 AM, Amber Sparks wrote:
> I know, Greg! I loved that. That made me happy. I feel so much the same > way. >
Captain Superficial here, but I have to say I love that cover. Not what I associate with Dickinson’s work instinctively, but maybe that’s the idea–to make it strange and alien and…Terminator-like?
I totally agree, Tim! I love the weird cover–very “another side of Emily Dickinson.”