Shayla Lawson
October 13, 7pm

Join poet Shayla Lawson as she reads from her new essay collection This is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope, which has been called “a hilarious, heartbreaking, and endlessly entertaining homage to black women’s resilience and excellence” (Kirkus Reviews). A Q&A with Lawson follows the reading. This event kicks off the Amherst College Creative Writing Fall Reading Series.

Please click here to register for this free program.

About the poet: Shayla Lawson is the author of three books of poetry—A Speed Education in Human Being, the chapbook Pantone, and I Think I’m Ready to see Frank Ocean—and the essay collection This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope, which Kirkus called “A hilarious, heartbreaking, and endlessly entertaining homage to black women’s resilience and excellence.” She was born in Rochester, Minnesota, grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, studied architecture in Italy, and spent a few years as a Dutch housewife—milkmaid braids and all. She teaches at Amherst College and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule

We talked as Girls do – (392)

We talked as Girls do –
Fond, and late –
We speculated fair, on every subject, but the Grave –
Of our’s, none affair –

We handled Destinies, as cool –
As we – Disposers – be –
And God, a Quiet Party
to our authority –

But fondest, dwelt opon Ourself
As we eventual – be –
When Girls, to Women, softly raised
We – occupy – Degree –

We parted with a contract
To cherish, and to write
But Heaven made both, impossible
Before another night.

the words The Emily Dickinson Marathon Emily Dickinson Museum 7 in black on a yellow-tinted image of the Homestead

Emily Dickinson Marathon
Part 7: The Emily Dickinson Museum
September 20, 3-5pm

Virtual Program

Join us for the final segment of the week-long Emily Dickinson Marathon! An Emily Dickinson Museum tradition, the Marathon is a group reading of all 1,789 poems by Emily Dickinson over the course of about 14 hours. For this year’s remote Festival, we are partnering with six other organizations to host the Marathon in two-hour sessions each day of this week. For the marathon, we will be reading from Ralph Franklin’s The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition.

The culminating session of the Marathon will be hosted by the Emily Dickinson Museum, organizers and producers of the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival.

In this session we will read poems numbered 1414-1685 in the Franklin. Text of the poems will be screen-shared for those who do not have their own poetry editions.

This program will be livestreamed to the Emily Dickinson Museum’s Facebook page and available to viewers there during and after the program.

Support The Tell It Slant Poetry Festival and Honor Someone Special:
Admission to all Festival events is free, but online donations, especially those made in honor or memory of family, friends, or colleagues are heartily encouraged and vital to the future of this beloved annual event. All gifts are tax deductible and will be recognized as part of the Festival.

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule

Text from poem fr660: "I Took my Power in my Hand - And went against The World -"

Statement in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter

This statement was originally released on June 3rd 2020:

Today, in our distress over recent devastating events, we stand with our community and with the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice and inequality. We recognize that real change is necessary both in our country and in our museum.⁣
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We believe that museums are not neutral: they should be part of public conversations on contemporary issues such as racism, injustice, and oppression. Museums have long been institutions that hold and reflect cultural values and collective memory. Now, they have an even greater responsibility to be active participants in challenging age-old and contemporary systems of oppression. ⁣
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Like other museums, the Emily Dickinson Museum has a duty to examine the history it teaches and to expand the stories it tells. Emily Dickinson lived through a catastrophic Civil War rooted in racial injustice and oppression. Her family was part of a society that benefited from the labor of immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans in service to a privileged White majority. The poet’s literary work was made possible by the labor of these domestic servants. The Emily Dickinson Museum strives to tell this full story. Our new interpretive plan will place greater emphasis on the perspectives of Irish, Native American, and free Black workers in the Dickinson households, making plain issues of race and class in Dickinson family daily life. ⁣
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At the Emily Dickinson Museum we recognize that this interpretive work is but one step in the greater effort to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and access for audiences, staff, and leadership in institutions like ours. Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice became an agent of change, both in the literary canon and in the lives of individuals who find depths of meaning in her account of our human condition. As an institution, we are committed to the continuous work of change that museums can and should be doing to build an equitable society.

“A Mighty Room” Studio Session: Library
September 20, 11:30am-12:30pm

Virtual Program

photo by Jeff Morgan

Sweet hours have perished here;

This is a mighty room;

Within its precincts hopes have played, —

Now shadows in the tomb.

-J1767

Spend a “sweet hour” in Emily Dickinson’s creative space where she penned her startling poetry. Whether you are a writer, an artist, a composer, or a poet, you’ll find solace and inspiration for your artistic output in Emily Dickinson’s library. Let this quiet virtual experience jumpstart your next creative journey.

What to expect: As one of a limited number of participants, you will need to find a quiet spot with a good internet connection from which to be immersed in a live feed from the library of Emily Dickinson’s Homestead. In this room were gathered Dickinson’s favorite books, her “Kinsmen of the Shelves” that “carried her to lands away.” A facilitator in the room gently welcomes you and guides you through three inspirational prompts to help you explore this unique physical and psychic space and unleash your own creativity over the course of the hour. No share-outs will occur in this session, but participants may choose to share materials with the group after the program if desired.

Space is limited for this program. This program is full.

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule

Closeup of a hand holding a magnifying glass over antique books.

Behind the Scenes with Emily Dickinson at the Jones Library’s Special Collections
September 20, 9-10:15am

Join us for a very special behind the scenes look at the holdings of the Jones Library’s Special Collections in Amherst, Massachusetts. Head of Special Collections, Cyndi Harbeson, gives you an up close and personal look at a unique Dickinson collection that places the poet within her nineteenth-century Amherst context. The holdings include approximately 7,000 items, including original manuscript poems and letters, Dickinson editions and translations, and family correspondence. Hear the stories these objects can tell and learn about recent work and acquisitions to the collection. A Q&A follows the presentation. To learn more about the Jones Library and this collection visit: https://www.joneslibrary.org/316/Dickinson-Emily#background

About the facilitator: Cyndi Harbeson has wanted to be a librarian ever since she was a kid keeping her mother company in the Newington Public Library in Connecticut where her mother worked. But she also loved history – she has a master’s of arts in History and a master’s of science in library science with an archives concentration. When undergraduate at Simmons, she realized she could marry her two passions. Harbeson was a processing archivist at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina before becoming Head of Special Collections at the Jones Library. She loves New England history, including Emily Dickinson, and visited the Homestead as a child.

2020 Tell It Slant Facebook Video – Behind the Scenes with Emily Dickinson at the Jones Library

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule

Festival Headliners Ada Limón and Jericho Brown with Music by Kimaya Diggs
September 19, 7pm

a grid showing headshots of Jericho Brown, Kimaya Diggs, and Ada Limon. In the fourth square are the words "Tell It Slant" Settle in for an evening of music and poetry celebrating Emily Dickinson’s ongoing creative legacy with the work of three contemporary artists. Singer-songwriter Kimaya Diggs, brings you new original settings of Dickinson poems live from the poet’s bedroom, and headliners Ada Limón and Jericho Brown read from their work and discuss their poetic practice and inspiration. The evening begins and ends with 20-minute musical sets by Diggs, bookending the headliner poetry reading and Q&A with Brown, Limón, and guest interviewer Nathan McClain. Don’t miss out on this special evening of community through art!

Live captioning will be available at this event!

*A note about Rosh Hashanah: We apologize that this event falls on the occasion of the Jewish New Year. The Festival has historically been scheduled in the third week of September for consistency and to avoid overlap with other local events. This program will be recorded and made available to view for three months following the event itself. Please register to receive information on how to view the recording. Shanah Tovah!

About the artists:

Kimaya Diggs has mastered a genre-defying style. Inspired by the acrobatic folk renderings of Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald’s jazz stylings, and Lianna LaHavas’ soulful charisma, she draws skillfully from her lineage of musical pioneers, creating a musical lane all her own. With a playful presence and frank, transporting storytelling, Diggs’ mastery of her voice is the focal point of each performance, and a transfixing experience. Information and music at kimayadiggs.com or on instagram at @kimayadiggs.

Ada Limón is the author of five books of poetry, including The Carrying (Milkweed Editions, 2018), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and was named one of the top 5 poetry books of the year by the Washington Post. Her fourth book Bright Dead Things was named a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She serves on the faculty of Queens University of Charlotte Low Residency M.F.A program, and the online and summer programs for the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center. She also works as a freelance writer in Lexington, Kentucky.

Jericho Brown is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Brown’s first book, Please (2008), won the American Book Award. His second book, The New Testament (2014), won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was named one of the best of the year by Library Journal, Coldfront, and the Academy of American Poets. He is also the author of the collection The Tradition (2019), which was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award and the winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His poems have appeared in Buzzfeed, The Nation, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The New Republic, TIME magazine, and The Pushcart Prize Anthology, and several volumes of The Best American Poetry anthologies. He is an associate professor and the director of the Creative Writing Program at Emory University in Atlanta.

About the interviewer:

Nathan McClain is the author of Scale (Four Way Books, 2017), a recipient of fellowships from Sewanee Writers’ Conference, The Frost Place, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and a graduate of Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. His poems and prose have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Green Mountains Review, Poem-a-Day, The Common, and The Critical Flame. He teaches at Hampshire College. For more information visit www.nathanmcclain.com.

2020 Tell It Slant Facebook Video – Festival Headliners Ada Limón and Jericho Brown with Music by Kimaya Diggs

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule

“A Mighty Room” Studio Session: Conservatory
September 19, 3:30-4:30pm

Virtual Program

Sweet hours have perished here;

This is a mighty room;

Within its precincts hopes have played,—

Now shadows in the tomb.

-J1767

Spend a “sweet hour” in Emily Dickinson’s creative space where she penned her startling poetry. Whether you are a writer, an artist, a composer, or a poet, you’ll find solace and inspiration for your artistic output in Emily Dickinson’s conservatory. Let this quiet virtual experience jump-start your next creative journey.

What to expect: As one of a limited number of participants, you will need to find a quiet spot with a good internet connection from which to be immersed in a live feed from Emily Dickinson’s sunny greenhouse on the south facade of the Homestead. In this small glass structure, Dickinson tended flowers “near and foreign,” forging a deep connection that permeated her poetry and daily life. A facilitator in the room gently welcomes you and guides you through three inspirational prompts to help you explore this unique physical and psychic space and unleash your own creativity over the course of the hour. No share-outs will occur in this session, but participants may choose to share materials with the group after the program if desired.

Space is limited for this program. This program is now full.

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule

picture of Jericho Brown: a black man wearing a yellow t-shirt smiles in front of some daffodils

Poetry Masterclass with Jericho Brown
September 19, 1-2:30pm

Hone your craft with Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, Jericho Brown. In the “Jumpstart Your Engines” Poetry Workshop, Jericho Brown helps writers generate new work through a set of unconventional exercises that keep our ears open and our fingers moving. The workshop engenders new ideas about writing, and as there is a profound relationship between reading poetry and writing it, we participants read, discuss, and even recite the work of several poets whose examples might lead us to a further honing of our craft. As a virtual participant you will engage in writing prompts and exercises at home alongside a panel of students selected to share their work along the way.

Live captioning will be available for this event!

*A note about Rosh Hashanah: We apologize that this event falls on the occasion of the Jewish New Year. The Festival has historically been scheduled in the third week of September for consistency and to avoid overlap with other local events. Every effort will be made in future to avoid overlap with this Holiday. While this event will not be recorded, Jericho’s reading with Ada Limón on Saturday evening will be. Visit that event page to learn how to access the recording. Shanah Tovah!

About the facilitator: Jericho Brown is the author of three books of poetry. His third collection, The Tradition (Copper Canyon, 2019), won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His poems have appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Time, and several volumes of the The Best American Poetry anthologies. Brown earned a PhD from the University of Houston, an MFA from the University of New Orleans, and a BA from Dillard University. He is the recipient of the Whiting Writers’ Award and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Brown is an associate professor and the director of the Creative Writing program at Emory University in Atlanta. Be sure to check out his Festival headliner reading later this evening!

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule

The words "The Emily Dickinson Marathon Emily Dickinson International Society 6" in white overlaid on a tinted green image of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson Marathon Part 6: Emily Dickinson International Society
September 19, 11am-1pm

Join us for part 6 of the week-long Emily Dickinson Marathon! An Emily Dickinson Museum tradition, the Marathon is a group reading of all 1,789 poems by Emily Dickinson over the course of about 14 hours. For this year’s remote Festival, we are partnering with six other organizations to host the Marathon in two-hour sessions each day of this week. For the Marathon, we will be reading from Ralph Franklin’s The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition.

Our part 6 partner is the Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS). EDIS is an international organization founded to “Promote, perpetuate and enhance the study and appreciation of Emily Dickinson worldwide.” The society publishes The Emily Dickinson Journal and The Emily Dickinson International Society Bulletin, as well as holding annual meetings and international conferences.

In this session we will read poems numbered 1176-1413 in the Franklin.

2020 Tell It Slant Schedule