Angles of a Landscape: Emily Dickinson--The Poet in her Bedroom

Most readers familiar with the poems of Emily Dickinson know of her reputation as a recluse. As narrator Joni Denn points out, “For reasons we don't understand, she gradually confined herself to her father's house and grounds” in Amherst, MA in her early 20s, where she stayed until she died at the age of 55. After her death, her sister found 1,800 poems Dickinson had written (only 10 were published during her lifetime, all without her permission). Starting on the sidewalk outside the handsome Dickinson house, the camera takes viewers into the home and up the staircase to the south-facing bedroom where Emily lived and wrote. Seeing the poet's personal effects—including her simple writing table—offers readers some insight into Dickinson's spare poetry, written at a time when ornamental Victorian verse (such as Longfellow's) was all the fashion. An interesting behind-the-scenes look at the working environment of one of America's greatest poets, this concise biography (created under the auspices of the Emily Dickinson Museum) is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Reagan)