Caricature of Emily Dickinson by John Sherffius.
This fall, Tucson will be all about Emily. Kore Press, local publisher of women’s literature, is bringing The Big Read to the Old Pueblo, with Emily Dickinson at the helm.
“The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and it’s basically designed to restore reading to the center of American culture,” explains Kore Press publisher Lisa Bowden.
“There’s a lot of fear around poetry,” says Bowden. “People feel like ‘someone has to explain this to me.’ I really want to create a different experience around poetry for people.” And so she will: from now through Dec. 10, Dickinson’s poems will be splashed across SunTran busses, interpreted into dance and music performances, slammed at libraries and coffee shops, sketched into temporary tattoos, and even texted from classrooms, an idea hatched from Emily D’s Spartan lines.
“Her work is so spare, the lines are so short. She was a master of concision and compression, like a diamond,” Bowden says of the poems.
The Big Read presentations around town will highlight Dickinson’s faceted—if closeted—life. Her first book, a collection of pressed flowers and plants titled “Herbarium” is on display at the Poetry Center, and a Feast pastry chef will be recreating her 19th century recipes.
“I wanted to kind of create a circus, and I brought in every person and artist and scholar and organization that would have something to contribute. We ended up with 40 partners. It’s been sort of wildfire from the beginning, people really light up about it.
“I’m looking forward to bringing all these amazing people into Tucson and bringing a lot of light. Tucson and Arizona needs that. I love the idea of using art and using Emily Dickinson—this amazing female who really created a life for herself that was unique and against the grain and really holding her up—as a way to bring Tucson together. In a way, that’s my act of civility,” Bowden adds.
“We’re going to rock Tucson with Emily.”
For a full schedule of Emily Dickinson events all over town, plus more information on Kore Press, visit KorePress.org or call 327-2127. The closing celebration is on Dec. 10 (Emily’s birthday) and coincides with 2nd Saturdays Downtown.
