STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island OutLOUD will host a free discussion on how freed Black workers and an Irish maid influenced the poetry of Emily Dickinson on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Richmondtown Library.
For the 10th consecutive year, the National Endowment for the Arts has chosen the organization to present The Big Read series on Staten Island.
“The goal is to focus on a particular writer or book, and to foster the enjoyment of literature,” said Beth Gorrie, founder of Staten Island OutLOUD and an Advance Woman of Achievement in the Class of 2009. “Staten Island OutLOUD’s series of free events are taking place in community venues across the Island. For COVID safety, many events are held outdoors. Social distancing is observed and masks are requested as appropriate.”
Saturday’s discussion focuses on an aspect of Dickinson’s life that isn’t well known: How household workers may have influenced her outlook and her poetic language.
“We’ll explore how the musical language of an Irish maid and of some African-American workmen may be heard in her poetry,” Gorrie said.
As Gorrie noted, there has been a lot written about her poems, but hardly anyone has talked about her daily interaction with her servants.
“Emily was very much a homebody. And she seldom left her Amherst, Mass., home,” she said. “She was a solitary figure. She lived in the house she grew up in. This biographer tracked down letters. And she was influenced by African-Americans and even asked one to be her pallbearer. It’s very interesting about the dedication and interest she had in their lives.”
The event, which is appropriate for all age groups, also will include a limited giveaway of “The Essential Emily Dickinson.”
The Richmondtown Library is located at 200 Clarke Ave.
For details on upcoming Staten Island OutLOUD events, visit www.facebook.com/StatenIslandOutLOUD.
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