Edicts on E. Dicks- A podcast about the Apple TV+ show "Dickinson" and the poems of Emily Dickinson

Edicts on E. Dicks- A podcast about the Apple TV+ show "Dickinson" and the poems of Emily Dickinson

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Edicts on E. Dicks- A podcast about the Apple TV+ show "Dickinson" and the poems of Emily Dickinson episodes

  • We Believe Poetry Can Be Powerful

    Hey guys, this is it. Season 3 of Dickinson is nigh! And that means Season 3 of "Edicts on E. Dicks" is nigh too! And we have something to ask of whoever is listening to this. If you've enjoyed the show and feel comfortable sending us a recording talking about what it and the OG Emily has meant to you, then send us a voice recording to [email protected]

    We would love to hear from you and celebrate the show's victory lap.

    2 min
  • We Cannot Put an Episode Out

    Well, that was a hell of a wait, huh?


    Ben and Kyle delve into the Season 2 finale of Apple TV+'s Dickinson, "You Cannot Put a Fire Out" and discuss sexual repression, cishet male progressivism, and the pornographic nature of oranges. A massive thank you to the Dickinson cast and crew for putting out a stellar season of TV as we prepare for Season 3 (featuring LYNN NOTTAGE in the writers room whaaaaaat) which is less than two months away... as well as our coverage of Season 3, which based on our history will happen sometime in 2025.

    As always, you can reach us at [email protected]. We love getting emails (as Kyle loves the chance to send people a concentrated blast of his thoughts about poetry and the transience of life)


    Two poems from Emily are featured in the episode:

    You cannot put a Fire out—

    A Thing that can ignite
    Can go, itself, without a Fan—
    Upon the slowest Night—

    You cannot fold a Flood—

    And put it in a Drawer—
    Because the Winds would find it out—
    And tell your Cedar Floor—


    AND

    A narrow Fellow in the Grass
    Occasionally rides -
    You may have met him? Did you not
    His notice instant is -

    The Grass divides as with a Comb,

    A spotted Shaft is seen,
    And then it closes at your Feet
    And opens further on -

    He likes a Boggy Acre -

    A Floor too cool for Corn -
    But when a Boy and Barefoot
    I more than once at Noon

    Have passed I thought a Whip Lash

    Unbraiding in the Sun
    When stooping to secure it
    It wrinkled And was gone -

    Several of Nature’s People

    I know, and they know me
    I feel for them a transport
    Of Cordiality

    But never met this Fellow

    Attended or alone
    Without a tighter Breathing
    And Zero at the Bone.

    1 hr 30 min
  • I like the look of Angela Carter- Because I know it's Grim

    We dive into Episode 9 of Season 2 of Dickinson, "I like a Look of Agony" and discuss the parallels between Austin and Mrs. Dickinson, Sue and Mary, and of course young men and the old men who seek to exploit them for profit. Join us as we dive into the role of manhood in modern society (apologies for us treating most of the discussion as a binary. We here at Edicts on E. Dicks say "fuck the gender binary."). And of course, what discussion of Emily Dickinson is complete without a bit of death discourse?


    Emily's got two poems for us today:

    I like a look of Agony,

    Because I know it's true—
    Men do not sham Convulsion,
    Nor simulate, a Throe—

    The Eyes glaze once—and that is Death—
    Impossible to feign
    The Beads upon the Forehead
    By homely Anguish strung.

    AND

    The Doomed—regard the Sunrise

    With different Delight—
    Because—when next it burns abroad
    They doubt to witness it—

    The Man—to die—tomorrow—

    Harks for the Meadow Bird—
    Because its Music stirs the Axe
    That clamors for his head—

    Joyful—to whom the Sunrise

    Precedes Enamored—Day—
    Joyful—for whom the Meadow Bird
    Has ought but Elegy!

    1 hr 15 min
  • I'm (technically an Emmy Award Certificate Winning) Nobody, Who are You?

    It happened everyone! Emily Dickinson got published in The Springfield Republican, all of Amherst pauses to celebrate her and her incredible accomplishment, and Death himself stops to hand her the keys to the Underworld and awards her immortality!

    Just kidding. Emily gets published and the world keeps turning because people are busy and they all have lives. Our girl turns invisible and gets to listen in on what everyone thinks about her. Meanwhile, the events in the barn pay off as we learn that the profits from The Constellation are being used to fund John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. And as every good American History student knows, this totally works and there are no bad consequences whatsoever... Just kidding (again).

    Digressions include getting an end-of-life plan, Patricia Highsmith, and lots of unexpected bodily fluids. Join us, won't you?

    As always, you can email us at [email protected]. 

    Here are two Emily poems for today:

    I taste a liquor never brewed – 

    From Tankards scooped in Pearl – 
    Not all the Frankfort Berries
    Yield such an Alcohol!

    Inebriate of air – am I – 

    And Debauchee of Dew – 
    Reeling – thro' endless summer days – 
    From inns of molten Blue –

    When "Landlords" turn the drunken Bee

    Out of the Foxglove's door – 
    When Butterflies – renounce their "drams" – 
    I shall but drink the more!

    Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats – 

    And Saints – to windows run – 
    To see the little Tippler
    Leaning against the – Sun!

    AND:

    Fame is a bee.

    It has a song—
    It has a sting—
    Ah, too, it has a wing.

    1 hr 18 min
  • Forever – is composed of Nietzsches –

    Ben and Kyle take a spa day and relax by discussing the inevitability of regret in life... the struggles of queer people... and Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. The two of us might not be able to relax very well. Whoops. Thankfully the female members of the Dickinson clan have no problem with that! Revel in a discussion that reveals the importance of hydrotherapy, human connection, and the prophecies our parents tell us.

    As always, you can reach us at [email protected]. 


    Emily's poem is philosophy masquerading with meter and slant rhyme:


    Forever – is composed of Nows –

    ‘Tis not a different time –
    Except for Infiniteness –
    And Latitude of Home –

    From this – experienced Here –

    Remove the Dates – to These –
    Let Months dissolve in further Months –
    And Years – exhale in Years –

    Without Debate – or Pause –

    Or Celebrated Days –
    No different Our Years would be
    From Anno Dominies –

    1 hr 18 min
  • Split the Emotional Duck- and You'll Find Van Gogh's Sunflowers

    Join Ben and Kyle on a trip to the opera with Emily and the rest of the Dickinsons as they watch a touring company's performance of La Traviata. We discuss fame, music, rapturous experiences with art, and killing birds. 

    Also, expect a forthcoming addendum to this episode- there's lots left to uncover.

    Emily's poem from this episode is incredible. Do yourself the favor and find the recording of Ella Hunt singing it:


    Split the Lark - and you’ll find the Music -

    Bulb after Bulb, in Silver rolled -
    Scantily dealt to the Summer Morning
    Saved for your Ear, when Lutes be old -

    Loose the Flood -  you shall find it patent -

    Gush after Gush, reserved for you -
    Scarlet Experiment! Sceptic Thomas!
    Now, do you doubt that your Bird was true?

    1 hr 1 min
  • Forbidden Fruits a Salon have (feat. Graham Kolbeins)

    We cross the halfway mark of Season 2 of Dickinson with the help of a special guest star, queer filmmaker and writer Graham Kolbeins! Join us as we discuss salon culture, the Weirdo Night queer arts scene of Los Angeles, concepts of sexual and gender identities through history, and whether or not The Scarlet Letter kinda sucks. Kyle learns the proper pronunciation of "ribald" and we wonder whether Emily's luscious pea might be a symbol for something else... 

    As always, you can reach us at [email protected]. 

    Emily's poem for this episode is a tiny little anthill that explodes with the force of a volcano:

    Forbidden Fruit a flavor has

    That lawful Orchards mocks—
    How luscious lies within the pod
    The pea that Duty locks!

    1 hr 13 min
  • The Daisy follows soft the Sun, followed by the Evening Star, into the Insouciant Dark

    Salutations, dear listeners! Welcome back from a brief but patient hiatus. Today, Kyle and Ben tackle Season 2 Episode 4 of Dickinson, "The Daisy follows soft the Sun –." We discuss getting lost in the maze of artistic endeavors, relationships and marriage, and the complicated Amethyst web of Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and Wendell Berry. Join us as we journey into the dark without a light- the best way to know the dark. 

    We actually tackle three poems by three different poets today (plus a bonus haiku by Kyle):

    Art buried in dirt?

    Cultivate insouciance:
    Compost for more crops!

    Emily Dickinson's "The Daisy follows soft the Sun-"

    The Daisy follows soft the Sun –

    And when his golden walk is done –
    Sits shyly at his feet –
    He – waking – finds the flower there –
    Wherefore – Marauder – art thou here?
    Because, Sir, love is sweet!

    We are the Flower – Thou the Sun!

    Forgive us, if as days decline –
    We nearer steal to Thee!
    Enamored of the parting West –
    The peace – the flight – the Amethyst –
    Night's possibility!


    William Blake's "To the Evening Star"

    Thou fair-hair'd angel of the evening,

    Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light
    Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown
    Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!
    Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the
    Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew
    On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes
    In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on
    The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes,
    And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon,
    Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide,
    And then the lion glares through the dun forest:
    The fleeces of our flocks are cover'd with
    Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence!


    Wendell Berry's "To Know the Dark"

    To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.

    To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
    and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
    and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

    1 hr 4 min
  • Our conversation—bedlam— Our laughter, ill at ease—

    Welcome to a particularly delirious episode of Edicts on E. Dicks, where our sleep-deprived hosts discuss the third episode of Apple TV+'s Dickinson, "The only Ghost I ever saw." Seances, Millard Fillmore, the return of 'Nobody,' and a horny Mrs. Dickinson fantasizing about a shipwrecked Norwegian sea captain while rubbing up against a bedpost are all prominent features in an episode that alternates between goofy insta-Wicca and an actual sense of dread!

    In the Spirit (ooooh) of this episode, we also dissect our star charts and discover that Kyle and Ben should never date (honestly, what would our couple name even be? 'Ken'?? 'Byle'?? Do people even do couple names anymore? Or have we collectively decided to move on?) and that Ben remains skeptical as to the veracity of using the placement of the stars at your time of birth to determine your personality. Classic Scorpio Rising, am I right?

    As always, you can email us at [email protected]. But understand that if you do, you will receive an abominably long email from Kyle (noted Double Air/Water sign). 


    We also have two poems today:


    The only Ghost I ever saw
    Was dressed in Mechlin—so—
    He wore no sandal on his foot—
    And stepped like flakes of snow—
    His mien, was soundless, like the Bird—
    But rapid—like the Roe—
    His fashions, quaint, Mosaic—
    Or haply, Mistletoe—

    His conversation—seldom—

    His laughter, like the Breeze—
    That dies away in Dimples
    Among the pensive Trees—

    Our interview—was transient—

    Of me, himself was shy—
    And God forbid I look behind—
    Since that appalling Day!

    AND

    Witchcraft was hung, in History,

    But History and I
    Find all the Witchcraft that we need
    Around us, every Day—

    Happy Spring Solstice, everyone!

    1 hr 2 min
  • Fame is a fickle food- Not soaked in Brandy for a Month

    Our journey through Season 2 of Apple TV+'s Dickinson continues as Emily has her first brush with fame- as the winner of the Amherst (Am'erst?) Cattle Show Baking Contest. Is this what she wants? Or will she resist the call of the Baking Contest Circuit in favor of something else? As Mrs. Dickinson tell us, one win is nice but two is momentum! Watch Hailee Steinfeld conjure one of Emily's more incisive poems out of thin air while the rest of Amherst gorges themselves on that monstrous cake she has made. 

    As always, contact us via email at [email protected] OR visit our fancy website at edictsonedicks.com.

    Here's Emily's haymaker of a meditation on Fame (that last line tho...):

    Fame is a fickle food

    Upon a shifting plate
    Whose table once a
    Guest but not
    The second time is set
    Whose crumbs the crows inspect
    And with ironic caw
    Flap past it to the
    Farmer’s corn
    Men eat of it and die

    1 hr 9 min

About Edicts on E. Dicks- A podcast about the Apple TV+ show "Dickinson" and the poems of Emily Dickinson

From the publisher's feed

A podcast about Emily Dickinson, but now she f*cks.