Customer Reviews

Voices & Visions: Emily Dickinson [VHS]

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For those who have not yet read Dickinson or who find her difficult, the video is a wonderful guide to an understanding of her often mysterious, always compelling work. While the personification (of Emily and various family members) may disturb some Dickinson devotees (no actress can match our imaginations), all of the commentary - by Oates, and particularly Rich - is literate, provocative, and helpful.

"Voices & Visions: Emily Dickinson" is an excellent production. I have been a fan of Emily Dickinson's poetry since the early 1990s, but this documentary opened my eyes to aspects of Dickinson's work I had not previously been aware of.

Some of Dickinson's poems, particularly her more thoughtful poems, are very difficult to read. As a result, I often skipped over Dickinson's most thoughtful poems and settled for the more coy poems in her canon, such "I am Nobody." This video made me realize that when judged against the entire body of her work, the coy poems are actually in the minority. As the various commentators point out, Emily Dickinson was a poet who looked very deeply and saw very clearly, and her poems are often about some of the heavier subjects in life, such as the loss of love, death, and the afterlife. I don't think this had occurred to me until I watched this video.

Probably the most interesting aspect of "Voices & Visions: Emily Dickinson" is its discussion of the influence of death and mourning in Emily Dickinson's life. As one biographer notes, Emily Dickinson's bedroom overlooked a cemetery where she saw "funeral after funeral." Additionally, she lived in an era when "consumption" (now known as tuberculosis) was very common. As biographer Richard Sewall note, "When you asked 'How are you?' in those days, you meant it. Because tomorrow, you might be gone."

In our day we are very shielded from the reality of death. Emily Dickinson didn't have that luxury. This in part explains her preoccupation with death. It might also explain why she became a recluse. By the age of 30, several of her lifelong friends had died. As sensitive as she obviously was, this could not have been anything but devastating for her. (Thankfully, this video is completely lacking any speculation about Dickinson's sexuality being a possible cause of her reclusiveness. It's not that I'm offended by any particular interpretation of her personal life, but that I don't think there's enough evidence one way or another to make any sound judgment either way. Also, I often think it's none of our business.)

Another comment by Richard Sewall has been very meaningful for me. Toward the beginning of this documentary, he comments, "We have much to be thankful for that Emily Dickinson was not published." He goes on to explain that because she wasn't published, she didn't have a critic to scold her and to tell her that she couldn't get away with her unconventional grammar and ideas. She therefore was free, writing only for herself. This was a very liberating realization for me, because I am an aspiring writer myself, and I sometimes fret over being published and the compromises I may have to make. The idea of writing simply for myself and doing whatever I want, is wonderful. It's inspiring to think that my greatest literary hero wrote only for herself, and yet went on to inspire millions.

I also love the narration, the reading of the poems, and the actors who portray Emily Dickinson and her family. This is really a first-rate production.

By the way, this video was a free gift to me, the first (and as of yet only) item I've ever received off of my Amazon "wish list." I received it from a lady in Texas who was thankful for the Gandhi list I created. (Ironically, some have referred to Emily Dickinson as being a Gandhi-like figure.) I suppose this video was for me a "Gift of Light."