Maybe it’s the 13 years of Catholic education but my eyes were immediately drawn to all of the God stuff in these letters. As it says in the note on Letter 46 churches were a social hub and often hosted a number of musicians as well as delivering services. Of course then it makes sense for the Dickinsons to be involved with their church socially as well as theologically. What stood out to me was a specific section of Letter 13 to her friend Abiah Root. 

“But I feel that I have not yet made my peace with God. I am still a s[tran]ger- to the delightful emotions which fill your heart. I have perfect confidence in God & his promises & yet I know not why, I feel that the world holds a predominant place in my affections. I do not feel that I could give up all for Christ, were I called to die.” 

I really love this section of the letter for a couple of reasons but mostly because Emily Dickinson is so connected to depictions of death but, at least in 1846, she was not willing to be a martyr. In the biographies on the Dickinson museum site, It was clear that her connections to death came more so in her later life during her “writing days” and “later years” but it is still so interesting to read a letter from when she is 16 to her friend in which she is grappling with the implications of being ready to die for Christ if called. This is especially interesting because she was pretty consistently sick throughout her young life and would have had to face certain elements of mortality with family members even before the time period in the late 1800s that was especially filled with death. I think that this calls to mind the mentality of the popular culture at the time that a woman her age would feel obligated to her faith in this way. However, it seems that Emily is not the only one to have feelings about martyrdom. Emily tells Austin that Vinnie “thinks ancient martyrs very trifling indeed” (Letter 66). As we read her poetry and delve into the eras of her works that center on death I am intrigued to see how these connections to religion get more complicated or resolved throughout her poetry. 

God and organized religion seem to be more prominent in Dickinson’s life and letters due to societal and community expectations as well as personal beliefs. Based on her biographies and letters Dickinson’s relationship with spirituality has a nuance and depth that may seep into her poetry.  

My work from February 10th!

While reading “I Sing the Body Electric” I couldn’t help but be reminded of the superbowl halftime show from Sunday the 8th. In Bad Bunny’s performance he highlighted elements of Latin American and Caribbean culture that seem personal and universal at the same time. He displayed various types of labor, including more gendered labor like the beauty industry, that everyone watching could relate to. Even those whose family isn’t from Puerto Rico could recognize elements of themself in the performance. Now where does Whitman come in? The body electric celebrates the perfection of the human body indiscriminately and for all of its power and meaning. What really stood out to me while reading was section 3 about the old man full of beauty and vigor. Specifically lines 14 and 15 “They did not love him by allowance, they loved him with/ personal love,” (Whitman “I Sing the Body Electric”). To me, the idea of personal love permeates through not only this poem but all of Whitman’s work. Where I feel it most is in his cataloguing and listing of parts of the body or parts of a community that are both incredibly broad and specific. Lists like section 2 and 9 recognize the individual intimately by representing their role or community. Since the halftime show I have seen countless videos of families from around the world reacting to the inclusion of some part of them in the performance. Bad Bunny’s simple act of listing all of the countries in the Americas as he exited the stadium has the same impact as Whitman’s recognition of the farm worker, the wrestler, the house keeper, or the mother. The inclusive nature of both works represents this idea of not loving by obligation but because of who they are and every perfect piece of them. Bad Bunny doesn’t know everyone from Canada to Chile just as Whitman didn’t know everyone in America, but both artists recognize the individual, lead with universal love. There is also so much to say here about their respective wants and their visions of unity in America but that is for another post.