Essential Dickinson CD

by Emily Dickinson, Julie Harris (Read by)

Overview

Known as "The Myth of Amherst" for her withdrawal from society while still a young woman, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) had an inner life that was deeply emotional and intense. She knew rapture and despair, pondered the wonder of God and the meaning of death. She broke tradition and was criticized for her seminal experiments with unorthodox phrasing, rhyme and broken meter, within concise verse forms, thus becoming an innovator and forerunner of modern poets.

This collection of Emily Dickinson's poems is interspersed with her luminous and fascinating letters, all read by Julie Harris, who received a Tony^® Award for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061124211
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/27/2006
Edition description:	Unabridged, 1 CD, 1 Hour
Product dimensions:	0.00(w) x 0.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Known as “The Myth of Amherst” for her withdrawal from society while still a young women, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) had an inner life that was deeply emotional and intense. She know rapture and despair, pondered the wonder of God and the meaning of death. She broke tradition and was criticized for her seminal experiments with unorthodox phrasing, rhyme and broken meter, within concise verse forms, thus becoming an innovator and forerunner of modern poets.

Born in Grosse Point Park, Michiganin 1925, Julie Harris has enjoyed success in numerous plays, films and televisiondramas. Her first hit was Member of the Wedding (play 1951,film 1955), followed by I Am a Camera (play 1951, film 1955), andVictoria Regina (1961).

She played Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amhurst (1976), and appearedin the television series Knots Landing from 1979 to 1987. Her morerecent films include Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and The HouseSitter (1992).

Read an Excerpt

Poems

Valentine week

Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine,
Unwind the solemn twine, and tie my Valentine!

Oh the Earth was made for lovers, for damsel, and hopeless
swain,
For sighing, and gentle whispering, and unity made of twain.
All things do go a courting, in earth, or sea, or air,
God hath made nothing single but thee in His world so fair!
The bride, and then the bridegroom, the two, and then the one,
Adam, and Eve, his consort, the moon, and then the sun;
The life doth prove the precept, who obey shall happy be,
Who will not serve the sovreign, be hanged on fatal tree.
The high do seek the lowly; the great do seek the small,
None cannot find who seeketh, on this terrestial ball;
The bee doth court the flower, the flower his suit receives,
And they make merry wedding, whose guests are hundred
leaves;
The wind doth woo the branches, the branches they are won,
And the father fond demandeth the maiden for his son.
The storm doth walk the seashore humming a mournful tune,
The wave with eye so pensive, looketh to see the moon,
Their spirits meet together, they make them solemn vows,
No more he singeth mournful, her sadness sire cloth lose.
The worm doth woo the mortal, death claims a living bride,
Night unto day is married, morn unto eventide;
Earth is a merry damsel, and heaven a knight so true,
And Earth is quite coquettish, and beseemeth in vain to sue.
Now to the application, to the reading of the roll,
To bringing theeto justice, and marshalling thy soul:
Thou art a human solo, a being cold, and lone,
Wilt have no kind companion, thou reap'st what thou has sown.
Hast never silent hours, and minutes all too long,
And a deal of sad reflection, and wailing instead of song?
There's Sarah, and Eliza, and Emeline so fair,
And Harriet, and Susan, and she with curling hair!
Thine eyes are sadly blinded, but yet thou mayest see
Six true, and comely maidens sitting upon the tree;
Approach that tree with caution, then up it boldly climb,
And seize the one thou lovest, nor care for space, or time!
Then bear her to the greenwood, and build for her a bower,
And give her what she asketh, jewel, or bird, or flower--
And bring the fife, and trumpet, and beat upon the drum--
And bid the world Goodmorrow, and go to glory home!
The Essential Dickinson. Copyright © by Emily Dickinson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Editorial Reviews

Throughout her illustrious acting career Julie Harris has found inspiration in historical characters--none more than Emily Dickinson. This collection of 47 Dickinson letters and poems was recorded in 1960 by a 35-year-old Harris, who was about the same age as the reclusive poet when she was at her creative peak. One can hear the affinity Harris had for the material in her calm, alluring, and focused performance. In the familiar lyrical rhythms of works like "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and "I Never Lost as Much but Twice" Harris gives us an Emily Dickinson who embodies what "The Belle of Amherst" will always be--an essential and altogether original American voice. B.P. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

DEC 06/JAN 07 - AudioFile