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The Luminescence of
All Things Emily |
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 The Luminescence of All Things Emily is available from you local bookstore, on-line vendors such as Amazon, or from the publisher. The Luminescence of All Things Emily ISBN 978-1-893239-89-0 77 pages, $15.00. |
Elizabeth Oakes’s
engaging collection of 48 poems portrays the quiet, yet emotionally
charged world of Dickinson, her family, and friends. Using a snow globe
to illustrate Dickinson’s quiet, agoraphobic, winter world, Oakes
begins, "Tell us how you know so much / in your quiet world, we ask
/ and ask. Tell us! . . . . We shake and shake that snow / globe, and
the snow just falls / faster. Inspired by Dickinson’s poems and
letters, family photographs, artifacts from the Dickinson homes, and her
own imagination, Oakes demonstrates respect and compassion as she delves
beneath the surface to explore the psychological complexity of the
Dickinson family, particularly the heartbreak caused by Austin Dickinson’s
relationship with Mabel Loomis Todd. Oates’s description of Dickinson’s
work – "all / that was random / gathered into the grace of
form" – also describes this collection, rich with random detail
made meaningful with keen insights that deepen our understanding of the
Dickinsons. — Barbara Kelly, Book Review Editor, The Emily Dickinson International Society Bulletin "The Luminescence of All Things Emily is replete with precise scholarship, enlightening biographical tidbits, and learned allusions to Emily Dickinson’s poetry – but unlike most biographers, Elizabeth Oakes tells it slant – How else can one penetrate Dickinson’s mysterious essence – but through poetry? Here is poetry that shines a light on Dickinson’s inner life – and Oakes’s – and ours – poetry that will make readers shiver uncontrollably – while fumbling around for the popped-off tops of their heads." — Tom C. Hunley, author of The Tongue and Octopus
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