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The Emily Dickerson Reader (2000)

by Paul Legault(Favorite Author)

4.07 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

review 1: Legault's talent goes beyond boiling Dickinson's poems down to one-liners and does some wonders with the development of character. There is a part of me that wants the real Emily Dickinson to be this maniacal and terrifying hybrid character of woman/poet/necrophiliac/lesbian/zombie/bird/butterfly/bride of Christ.My only complaint is the shift halfway through the collection where said character flattens out completely, becomes someone different, fleshes out a new (but enjoyable) sort of humor. I believe this book was originally published in volumes--I'm guessing this had something to do with it. Meh.
review 2: I'm somewhat of an Emily Dickinson completest. I just wrote a fictionalized book about her, and in the process of researching her life, I purchased every ... morebook about Emily I could find. I was pretty surprised a few weeks ago when I stumbled across this at a local bookstore. Actually, what caught my attention first was the art on the cover. Mabel Loomis Todd (the mistress of Austin Dickinson - Emily's brother) painted it for Emily and it was featured on the cover of the very first collection of Emily's poems published in 1891. The skeletal arm reaching from the ground lets you know this book isn't another stuffy look into Emily's life. This English-to-English translation of her work is, essentially, brilliant.At a minimum, the entries will induce a smile, or, as they often do, make me laugh out loud and reach for my R.W. Franklin edition of her poetry to compare it to the original. In that respect, the author has won. He's not only entertained (immensely), but also has motivated our family to read her poems aloud, along with the translations.I also am quite impressed with the sheer amount of work it must have taken to do a translation for every one of her 1,789 poems. Last year, I was a reader at the Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon at the Emily Dickinson Museum. Do you know how long it takes to read all of her poems? Over 16 straight hours. Now imagine reading, analyzing, and writing something funny about each and every one. I'm sure it was a tall order to say the least.As for the physical aspect of the book itself, McSweeney's did a great job with it. The book is a nice size, is very solidly constructed, and full of nice touches such as the bookmark, gold page edges, and embossed cover. The only negative thing I could say about the book is that the stickers on the front (the title of the book) and back (information about the book) are not held on very well and are peeling off.If you love Emily's poetry, and love to laugh, I would highly recommend this book. less

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