Famous poet is off to the circus, in this children's book written as a verse novel.
Renowned American poet and Amherst native Emily Dickinson developed a reputation for being a quiet recluse. But Burleigh Muten, of Shutesbury, a kindergarten teacher at The Common School, in Amherst, tells a different story in her new children’s book about Dickinson, entitled “Miss Emily.”
“Miss Emily,” illustrated by Matt Phelan and published by Candlewick, is aimed at children ages 8 to 12. In the story, readers get a look at Dickinson’s mischievous and affectionate side.
Muten, who has an upcoming book release at Jones LIbrary in Amherst, said she was inspired to write her book after reading the book “Emily Dickinson: Friend and Neighbor,” by Dickinson’s childhood neighbor, MacGregor Jenkins.
Emily Dickinson “Imagining her as someone laughing was pretty unique, but she really did, according to MacGregor Jenkins and Martha Dickinson, her niece,” Muten said. “Emily was really one of those kinds of adults that you would wish every child could know. She was one of those adults who really listened to what children had to say, and was involved in their play.”
Muten discovered during her research that there are letters in which Dickinson refers to the circus passing by her house in the middle of the night.
“I thought it would be a fun story if Emily met the kids at midnight to go watch the circus train,” Muten said. “MacGregor Jenkins is the narrator; he’s about 7 in the novel.”
Dickinson joins the four neighborhood children, as they pretend to be Gypsies.
“They get caught, of course, but they still get to go to the circus,” Muten said.
Muten said when she conducted her research for the book, she learned there aren’t any similar children’s books for this age group about Dickinson. Because of her background teaching reading, she decided to write it as a verse novel. The book is one long poem, broken up into chapters.
“It’s very approachable for young readers,” she said. “It also felt right because Emily was a poet, and I’m a poet. Why not write in verse?”
Muten said she was excited by what she learned in her research.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this is a new take on Emily,’” she said. “Even as an Amherst resident, my understanding of her was as a very somber recluse, and she was so much more than that. She was hilarious, and she never retreated from the children in her life.”
Muten said Dickinson loved nature and playing with words, so she naturally would have a lot in common with children.
“Emily never really lost the child within her, which I think is true of a lot of poets,” she said. “A lot of grownups are just too busy to notice a certain moment, or a certain color at sunrise. It’s really important to introduce Emily Dickinson to children as a playful, loving person, not this oddball who stays in her house. I felt it was important to introduce her with that side of her shining.”
Muten, who has written several books about Greek goddesses, said she enjoys writing about strong role models for girls and women.
“I write about the topics that appeal to me…the things I want people to know about,” she said. “There’s the fun of writing it and crafting it, especially in free verse. But, at the core of it for me is the excitement of sharing something with my readers that maybe they didn’t know.”
A book launch event for “Miss Emily” will be held at the Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst, on March 22 at 2 p.m. The free, public event will include a slideshow, to include images of the circuses of that day, and someone dressed up as Emily Dickinson.
It can be pre-ordered now in hardcover on amazon.com, with a release date of March 11. Grade level reading is posted on the site as from second to fifth grade.