Because I could not stop to read poetry, It kindly stopped for Me...

In my constant effort to make myself a well rounded person (so I can roll with the rest of em’) I have been reading Emily Dickinson. There are a couple of things I need to admit.

First, I was a music major in college. Being a music major meant that I was supposed to practice, practice, learn some theory and history, practice, and practice some more. So I did not have the opportunity to read many of the “great works” of Western literature.

Second, I have never really read any poetry or taken any poetry class in high school or beyond. I’ve read some Wordsworth and some Whitman, but not with a teacher or class to help me sharpen my critical eye.

Third, aren’t guys supposed to hate the touchy, feely poetry kind of stuff? I’m already married so I don’t need to cull Dickinson for poems to put in a note for my beloved – not that I would find much that would be uplifting (I was going to put the famous poem, “Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me…” in a Valentine card, but then thought the better of it).

So I am drifting in a sea of ignorance and a lack of education trying to read and get something out of Dickinson. I have to be honest, it is not easy. Whitman was much easier as was Wordsworth, but Dickinson is so subtle and so profound that I am finding it a little difficult. My hope is that by the time I get to poem 146 I will have gotten used to Dickinson’s style of writing that I will be able to engage at a deeper level.

I am moved slightly by the poems. Something stirs when I read Dickinson, either a sense of peace, or a moment to take a breath, or a sigh. It is not something that I can accurately articulate or describe because I am not completely sure what I am reading. Yet, as with all great works of art, the poems to evoke some kind of reaction even for this untrained snob.

Emily Dickinson is considered (often alongside Whitman) America’s greatest poet and I could have easily have gone my whole life without reading a single line of her poetry. I imagine this is the case for many people. The idea of reading her poetry is daunting, it is as if one must have an English degree to even think about trying to read such works. Yet, if these poems are so great, shouldn’t they be in the hands of the people?

Often the Academy builds walls around great works of art with offerings of the “correct” interpretation making the novice feel small and stupid. I do not disparage the Academy, after all I am very much a part of the Academy. Yet I do disparage the idea that such works of art are beyond the experience of the populous. We need the depth, but we also should feel free to just read and experience and enjoy.

Here is what I think we should do – start putting Dickinson poems on billboards, except probably not the “Because I could not stop for Death” poem. That may give the wrong impression.

Afterthought: For those who are saying, “Hey, this has nothing to do with theology,” I will give you these thoughts. Should the Bible be explained or just placed in the hands of the people? Is their a “correct” interpretation of scripture and/or way to be a Christian, or are there correct ways? Chew on that and stop your moaning.