Wednesday, August 20, 2008

More about Emily

Call me for a good time and a wild night?


After Emily lost her father and suffered the civil war, she considered marriage to one Otis Phillips Lord, old enough, and nasty enough, to be her father.
The marriage that never took place, but one interesting opinion of our beloved girl came out of it.

When a visitor to the Lord house picked up a copy of some E.D. poems she was told
"Take it away. Little hussy - don't I know her? I should say I did. loose morals. She was crazy about men. Even tried to get to Lord. Insane, too."


Not the usual sort of opinion us her loyal and loving fans are familiar with.

I've finished Roger Lundin's "Emily Dickinson, and the art of belief" and have started John Cody's "After Great Pain, the inner life of Emily Dickinson"

Cody's work is much much more interesting.

The quote is from Lundin's book.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hallo, Lane!
You write that Cody's book is more interesting" than Lundin's, but that qoute from Lundin looks very interesting.
Tschuess ('till next visit from the LL's "Landesbibliothek" im Vaterland,
Anonomann
P.S. Your autobio says you "can't play a musical instrument", but don't you have to play piano "serviceably" (not to compete with Jeremy D, but) to compose??

4:05 PM  
Blogger Glenn Buttkus said...

I think that the mental health issue, and the suppressed libido and her sex-crazed fantasies are some of the things that attract you to the lovely Miss E. Would her proposed marriage to Lord have been a marriage of convenience? Ironically the whole thrust of Ludin's book was to document Emily's religious fervor, her religious beliefs--so wasn't it odd that she considered marrying the Lord. Actor Jack Lord used to have fun with his name too. i'm with you in that the "inner life" of Emmie might have more court and spark than her religious bent. It has been nice to have Emily's comments on FFTL over all these years. I doubt that she pipes up in person on anyone else's blog.

I found some fantastic Sarah McLachlan lyrics for FFTR, and now I am deep into Cowboy Poetry, Yippie Kie Yaah, indeed. Heard from Naomi, Rick Mobbs wife, that Rick and Broadus are safe there in the Grand Canyon rafting trip. The flooding was on the opposite end of the canyon, she said.

5:55 AM  
Blogger Lane Savant said...

I hadn't thought about the "Lord" connection.
I think that she just missed her father.
Her jackass father, Jesus, and a east coast judge named "Lord"

A subtle pattern emerges.

P.S. I can "operate" most of the usual musical instruments and get a little blues out of my Martin 00018 guitar but you wouldn't want to hire me for a gig.

I play computer. I write on screen, then listen, critique, and edit

9:35 AM  
Blogger Lane Savant said...

Oh yeah, it's just that "religion" crams so much of the best part of the human imagination into such tiny boxes.
To"Accept Christ" or "believe" undoubtedly means something profound
but what?
Religion never explains.
no questions allowed.

9:39 AM  
Blogger Glenn Buttkus said...

Yeah, in college one can study for a graduate degree in "Comparitive Religions". There the big Three and then, of course, thousands of sub-groups, off-shoots, revamps, new hats on old heads. But the big tip off for the active mind is the absolute necessity to reject all others when you accept the premises, dogma, traditions, and edicts of the one you choose. It is like the Allah Club, the Buddha Club, the Jesus Club. Truthfully, the aboriginal approaches to spirituality come close to the more profound and useful interpretations of what'sitallabout and Whyarewehere?
If you are a Protestant, you abhore Catholics. The term Christian has become a generic for hundreds of pod groups who feel that they, and only they, know and practice "the way".

I think that coming to flower during the 19th century, when women's rights movements had not really taken root, must have been very hard for a smart and sensitive soul like Emily's. Her stern and distant father may have contributed, as well, to her sexual "problems", and her dabbling in lesbianism. Julie Harris is getting too old to play the Belle anymore. So who does that leave? Lily Tomlin would love to do it, but she too is long in the tooth. Holly Hunter could do it. Holly Hunter can do anything she puts her mind to. Her new series, SAVING GRACE, is just about the best series going on the tube.

Glenn

2:04 PM  

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