Remembering Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson, one of America’s premier poets, was born nearly two-hundred years ago on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Daughter of a prominent lawyer, and granddaughter of one of Amherst University’s founders, Dickinison was the second of three children.

Dickinson lived a quiet life. Only a few of her poems were published during her lifetime, and those were published anonymously. Shortly after the poet's death in 1886, her younger sister, Lavinia, discovered hundreds of short, untitled verses, some sewn together in booklets, others copied on small fragments of paper. Transcribing these handwritten poems presented a major challenge.  (Images of Dickinson’s poems can be viewed at Emily Dickinson Archive.) Editing and publishing them also created a rift between members of Dickinson's family and friends.
 
In Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family’s Feuds, Lyndall Gordon tells Dickinson's story in two parts. The first half of the book presents the poet’s life, including Lyndall’s speculation that epilepsy contributed to Dickinson’s reclusiveness; the second half recounts the strife that arose over the disposition of Dickinson’s unpublished work.

For more information about the poet and her writings visit the Emily Dickinson Museum.

The Library has several books about Dickinson including Lives Like Loaded Guns (B DICKINSON, GORDON) and The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, (811 DICKINSON).

China's First Emperor and His Terra Cotta Warriors

A new, traveling exhibit at The Children’s Museum in Indianapolis tells the story of the creation of the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi. Those interested in learning more about this enigmatic ruler may want to read China’s First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors by Frances Wood, head of the Chinese department at the British Library.  Wood’s well-researched book provides a concise introduction to the culture of ancient China following the unification of the seven warring states and their lesser rivals by Qin Shi Huangdi. Of special interest to those who have visited (or plan to visit) The Children’s Museum is the chapter, "Seas of Mercury, Pearl Stars and an Army of 8,000 Men," which describes Qin Shi Huangdi's tomb and the life-size pottery soldiers, chariots and horses discovered in1974.

"Spring Forward" This Weekend

Daylight Saving Time starts Sunday, March 10, at 2:00 AM, so don’t forget to set your clocks an hour ahead before you go to bed on Saturday.  Why do we "spring forward" in March and "fall back" in November?  Christopher Klein shares some interesting facts and debunks some common misconceptions about DST in “8 Things You May Not Know about Daylight Saving Time.”

If you find the intangible nature of time intriguing, you may enjoy Joe Ellen Barnett’s Time’s Pendulum:  The Quest to Capture Time—From Sundials to Atomic Clocks, an examination of the ways humans, throughout history, have tried to quantify time.  Or if you like biographies, you might prefer Stephen Hawking: An Unfettered Mind by Kitty Ferguson.  In this readable account, "Ferguson replaces the iconic, but static image of cosmologist Hawking with flesh and blood," writes Publishers Weekly.  Moving back to the eighteenth century, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Problem of His Time adds yet another human dimension to the history of measuring time.  In Longitude, Dava Sobel, award-winning science writer for the New York Times and author of Galileo's Daughter, describes John Harrison's epic struggle to create a chronometer to help sailors circumnavigate the globe.

Diamond Jubilee

This year marks the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.  Queen Elizabeth II is only the second United Kingdom monarch to celebrate 60 years on the throne. (Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.)  For more information on Her Majesty and the Diamond Jubilee visit The Official Website of the British Monarchy.

The Library has several excellent biographies of Queen Elizabeth II, including the newly-published Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith and The Real Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Andrew Marr (Large Print.)