By Flapper Press Poetry Café:
In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Flapper Press Poetry Café begins a new series of articles about favorite lines of poetry and the poets who wrote them. We’re reaching out to poets, writers, and lovers of poetry to submit their favorite lines of poetry and tell us why you love them.
Check out our submission guidelines and send us your favorites!
We'll feature your submission sometime this year on our site!
Here is a new submission from Flapper Press Poetry Editor Annie Newcomer:
Emily Dickinson
I dwell in Possibility – (466)
I dwell in Possibility – A fairer House than Prose – More numerous of Windows – Superior – for Doors – Of Chambers as the Cedars – Impregnable of eye – And for an everlasting Roof The Gambrels of the Sky – Of Visitors – the fairest – For Occupation – This – The spreading wide my narrow Hands To gather Paradise –
Annie Newcomer:
Emily Dickinson speaks to me, not only through her extraordinary use of language but because her poetic talent (while not hidden) was not properly acknowledged nor was she encouraged to publish. Such were the times for a woman. Indeed, during her lifetime, she was known more for her engagement with botany.
When her work was finally published after her death, editors felt a need to “improve” her work by changing her format and dropping punctuation she envisioned in her pieces. Fortunately, decades later, this was corrected.
Fun facts about Emily Dickinson's poetry:
Musicians from all over the world have put her words to music (just Google it).
You can “rent” a "sweet hour” in Emily Dickinson's creative space, where she penned her startling poetry and honed her revolutionary voice: emilydickinsonmuseum.org
One of the most highly esteemed American poets, read by people of all ages, Emily Dickinson pushed against traditional boundaries in the world of poetry and ushered in a new way of expressing the inner life of a true observer gazing at the complexities of existing in the world. Although influenced by seventeenth-century metaphysical poets and addressing many of the same interests as her poetic contemporaries, Dickinson’s unique voice created poems complex and void of sentimentality and artifice as she delved deeply into the world around her and turned her laser-like attention to what sparked her vivid imagination. A prolific poet, writing nearly 1,800 poems, she saw only ten or her poems published in her lifetime; her first volume of work was published posthumously in 1890. She died in Amherst in 1886.
Read more about Emily Dickinson and her work:
Consider donating to The Emily Dickinson Museum and its mission to create "a broad appreciation for this remarkable poet’s unparalleled work."
Annie Klier Newcomer founded a not-for-profit, Kansas City Spirit, that served children in metropolitan Kansas for a decade. Annie volunteers in chess and poetry after-school programs in Kansas City, Missouri. She and her husband, David, and the staff of the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens are working to develop The Emily Dickinson Garden in hopes of bringing art and poetry educational programs to their community.
Annie helms the Flapper Press Poetry Café—dedicated to celebrating poets from around the world and to encouraging everyone to both read and write poetry!
Presenting a wide range of poetry with a mission to promote a love and understanding of poetry for all. We welcome submissions for compelling poetry and look forward to publishing and supporting your creative endeavors. Submissions may also be considered for the Pushcart Prize.
General Submission Guidelines