When Martha Nell Smith was a child, she was given the following book: golden treasure trove of poetry. “I was a nerdy kid and I loved reading,” the 72-year-old academic says, adding, “I also loved playing. I was also a very athletic kid. I was a tomboy.”
This book included several poems by Emily Dickinson. “I thought it looked so simple, but when you think about it, it’s really weird,” she says. “But you could say that about almost all of Dickinson’s poems.”
Smith tells the story of Emily Dickinson’s long and winding journey to becoming a leading author, with a particular focus on the poet’s secretly romantic letters to her sister-in-law, Susan Dickinson.
“The experience of understanding Dickinson’s love for his sister-in-law Susan was an adventure,” Smith says with a seductive smile. “I always knew in that still little voice inside me, what I call my intuition, that they had a lifelong love or love for each other, and people were trying to hide it.”
Smith chronicled that journey in his 1998 book. Open Carefully: An Intimate Letter from Emily Dickinson to Susan Dickinson. On Tuesday, Dec. 9, she will join fellow scholar Aia Youssef and contemporary romance author Nikki Payne to discuss Dickinson’s life, work, and accomplishments at the Folger Shakespeare Library’s annual Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute.
Smith, who teaches at the University of Maryland and is a member of the LGBTQ community, wonders if Dickinson’s early dive into her secret love life may have inspired her own inclinations.
“Maybe,” she says. “Maybe it was. In a past life, I was married to a man. Now, when this happened, I was very young, and so was he. We’re still good friends, but in my senior year of college, I realized, ‘Oh, I really like kissing girls. It’s different for me.'” But it was hard to realize that. When I realized that, I immediately said, “No, I can’t think of that.” For one thing, I was still married. But he had his own charm for men. I don’t think they are cause and effect. I think they are more recognized. ”
Poetry is often considered a high literary art form, and many people shy away from it because they think it is esoteric.
“I think people are trained from a young age to say that,” Smith says. “That’s true. I think they’re being taught.” But she points out that poetry is already part of our daily lives. “We call it lyrics. Some of my colleagues, who will not be named, get mad at me for calling lyrics poetry, but they are. Bruce Springsteen wrote poetry, I think Lucinda Williams wrote poetry, and Nancy Griffith certainly did. Lyrics are poetry. They are definitely poetry.”
When I asked Dickinson if she would allow academics to mine her personal letters to uncover her sexual proclivities, Smith just laughed. “I think she asks why we care, why do we seek her approval? But I think she loves curiosity. She was a very curious person herself, after all.”
Folger’s annual Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute commemorates Jane Austen’s 250th birthday and will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 9 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Although the event is sold out, virtual access is still available on a pay-as-you-go basis with a minimum $10 fee. visit folger.edu.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
