tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post485294214009515171..comments2024-03-29T06:02:33.720-07:00Comments on the prowling Bee: There's a certain Slant of light,Susan Kornfeldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-53157156003676755722023-12-22T20:56:45.191-08:002023-12-22T20:56:45.191-08:00Thanks, Larry. I (finally) fixed it.Thanks, Larry. I (finally) fixed it.Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-43027255949453654252023-05-16T14:34:47.604-07:002023-05-16T14:34:47.604-07:00Civil war or spurned love, for the depression-pron...Civil war or spurned love, for the depression-prone, winter afternoon light at Amherst’s latitude feels futile, a bad joke. Solstice sun sets at 4:20 pm, and you know you’re in for a long night. Sleep signals Death has passed, for tonight, but don’t relax. He can return tomorrow without warning.Larry Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-67853849485757900082023-05-15T17:35:51.126-07:002023-05-15T17:35:51.126-07:00Both ED's manuscript and Franklin's Varior...Both ED's manuscript and Franklin's Variorum show this poem in four quatrains.Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-6074907193553571742023-02-16T08:53:32.086-08:002023-02-16T08:53:32.086-08:00...so interesting to read the analysis and comment......so interesting to read the analysis and comments here- I'm from MN & know the feeling of that light in winter, especially when it's reflected on the white snow- it's blinding to look upon-so much, that it hurts...at the same time, it exposes some feeling of contrast with the interior of our being, which can be dark and frightening...Ultimately, as the afternoon light disperses, it becomes extremely dark and very cold...again, summoning a feeling- that of a deathly cold along with bitter loneliness...the words of this poem express my deepest feelings in those moments-- what unexplainable sensitivity and literary genius for someone to express those feelings with such a naked truth...Beckynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-7900292072559345122020-07-21T07:11:04.813-07:002020-07-21T07:11:04.813-07:00Can’t you imagine how effective it might be for pr...Can’t you imagine how effective it might be for professionals dealing with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) to use ED along with vitamin D as therapy? She was so prescient.Pphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01023162636086533197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-69864188831493182622020-05-24T07:48:25.661-07:002020-05-24T07:48:25.661-07:00I wish I remembered which poem and the specifics o...I wish I remembered which poem and the specifics of my research at the time. I think dying in despair would be Calvinistically more dire than experiencing a feeling of despair at times. And now that I re-read it with your comments in mind I see that the Seal Despair sent by heaven comes and does indeed goes. And we also know Dickinson's frequent poetic invocation of the regenerative powers of Spring, so perhaps you are right in this reading: Despair and then Grace. Thank you for your comment.<br />Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-6879668783629712552020-05-22T21:46:20.529-07:002020-05-22T21:46:20.529-07:00If I'm not mistaken, in another poem concernin...If I'm not mistaken, in another poem concerning Despair you mention the Calvinist doctrine that despair is a necessary condition that reminds us of heavenly grace, as long as it does not become so intense as to bring about the sin of hopelessness (or something along those lines). Is this poem's Despair perhaps that imperial affliction sent us from the air?corc1130https://www.blogger.com/profile/06331358932073419476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-53137097713036829582016-03-03T19:04:35.463-08:002016-03-03T19:04:35.463-08:00My wife and I appreciate your essays as we read a ...My wife and I appreciate your essays as we read a poem or two each night after dinner from Thomas Johnson's Final Harvest collection. Your essay above is one of our favorites (so far!).Davehttp://www.stressillness.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-33003477367163322542015-08-02T13:11:29.458-07:002015-08-02T13:11:29.458-07:00I saw that slant of light for years and years late...I saw that slant of light for years and years late on winter afternoons on Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, when I was a young mother raising my two little children there. I learned that to ward off its spell, I had to go outdoors for a while at mid-day, when the sun was at its brightest (though still very feeble). The invigoration by that mid-day sun at its zenith could carry me through that choking late-afternoon slant of light.<br />And E.D. has brilliantly paired that visual oppression with oppressive organ music in Church (though they are an odd pair of oppressors: the too-weak light of the sun, and the too-strong blast of the organ "music".Birdwatcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15409714616948921849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-49437871999122829872015-05-09T06:46:23.578-07:002015-05-09T06:46:23.578-07:00What an excellent reading! Your interpretation of ...What an excellent reading! Your interpretation of the ending is such an interesting one - one I hadn't thought of.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-43824060384114099492014-07-16T07:20:37.665-07:002014-07-16T07:20:37.665-07:00I experienced it in Vermont – but I suspect that e...I experienced it in Vermont – but I suspect that even if I hadn't, Dickinson's powerful powerful poem would have made me feel it. Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-84011917170105668632014-07-15T22:46:45.559-07:002014-07-15T22:46:45.559-07:00Alas, commentary by someone who may have seen this...Alas, commentary by someone who may have seen this light and knows of what she speaks. I was searching for the stanzas and found so many sophomoric analyses. When you see this "certain slant" you feel all of what Emily wrote. I knew that heavy light when I lived in the northeast., though only rarely. When I first read the poem I shuddered that someone had managed to describe it so perfectly. It still fills me with awe, and as much as I'd love to see it again, I also live in fear of it.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com