SYNOPSIS
In Season 1, Episode 3 of the MorningPoems podcast, host and poet Tess McCarthy reads and discusses poetry from their MorningPoems series, then talks about Emily Dickinson's prolific year in 1862—which takes committed effort. Tess shares insights into her writing process and her lack of commitment out of fear in general with projects. She briefly mentions how MorningPoems became a daily poetry habit that enriches her life.
The episode features MorningPoem #575, 'Nothing to Add to the Debate,' exploring themes of economic disparity and social observation in San Francisco. Listeners are also invited to follow Tess's Instagram @morningpoems_ for more poetry updates.
00:00 Introduction to MorningPoems Podcast //
01:03 Housekeeping and Social Media //
01:36 The Power of Reading Poetry Aloud //
02:28 Emily Dickinson's Miraculous Year //
04:01 Meditative Writing Process //
05:46 Today's Poem, MorningPoem #575: “Nothing to Add to the Debate” //
07:31 Comparing Poems and Social Commentary //
10:49 Intro to the Poem Reading //
13:19 Closer
Wow. This recording is so—funny. Please tell me you hear this, too, but we’ve got gongs going off at inopportune times. It’s my voice here, but some dub-overs sound like a different woman!
Wildly inaccurate, in real life, Emily Dickinson published 10 poems. I’m watching the show “Dickinson,” off Apple+, starring Hailee Seinfeld (of Pitch Perfect movie series fame). I have been watching episodes in snippets. It makes for good drama: A girl poet, sickly, with Death talking to her, has a big crush on her childhood friend, but then the friend marries her dorky brother. And then they’re forced to be in each other’s lives, knowing they still want each other. But can’t! They can’t!”
Boy, is it a lesbian period piece? What with quotes like, “And I felt you in the library.” Good god. “What is I need more than your poems? What if I need you?” I love the fictional Emily Dickinson. We’re loving epistolary Emily, too, right?
It’s Monday night, and I’m queuing up Episode 4 for edits. I’ve got different recordings that I’m weaving into one show. The sound isn’t perfect, and I’m laughing over my favorite quote from this show when talking about establishing healthy habits:
"Being commitment-shy has gotten me nothing but failure and no tattoos."
MorningPoem #575
Nothing to Add to the Debate
For three dollars plus tip;
I walked up to a cab driver as he was outside his cab
because I didn’t know what Uber or Lyft
was because
it was windy and cold, so I nabbed this cab.
But the cabby told me he couldn't take
me right away and invited me to hop in the car to keep warm.
He was shopping for fruit
at a sidewalk market in the Mission on Mission,
and yes, he is
on a mission
getting food for his in-laws
because it was right around the time for his family
to break the fast--at Ramadan.
A slow young girl rings me up
because I get out of the car and decide to buy bananas
and still
it's windy and cold
and he tells me I can get back inside his cab
because he's almost done.
From the inside,
I watch a homeless man pinch a plum,
another man picks one up and runs,
and little old ladies elbow each
other over cucumbers.
There are tall, well-heeled tech guys passing by,
they walk side by side
hogging up the sidewalk and
one of them bumps into the older woman
in the shoulder,
I think the tech guy apologized
he gently semi-pat the woman's arm
and smiled
his friend smiled at her with a "Are we cool?" look.
Both walk on; I sit and watch life unfold
before long, I am home
there was no need to interject
or interact, so I
just watched.
REFERENCES
1. Corrigan, Maureen. “This collection may be the closest we’ll ever come to a Dickinson autobiography,” NPR, Fresh Air. April 25, 2024. [link]
2. Popova, Maria. “Emily Dickinson’s Electric Love Letters to Susan Gilbert,” The Marginalian. December 10, 2018. [link]
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MorningPoems S.1, E.3: Emily Dickinson, Commitment Shyness, AI Voices, and a Cab Story