Emily Dickinson and the Poetics of a Private Life

Schedule

Thu Nov 06 2025 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

Mechanics' Institute | San Francisco, CA

Advertisement
Poet Carol Ciavonne explores recent trends of Emily Dickinson scholarship and the legacy of Cynthia Griffin Wolff's watershed biography.
About this Event

Emily Dickinson was long defined purely by her work, leaving the details of her personal life, beyond her reputation as a recluse, untouched. Cynthia Griffin Wolff was one of the first scholars to explore Dickinson’s rich inner world and connect it to her poetry, now documented in numerous books, films, and research projects. The Emily Dickinson we know today enjoyed cooking, gardening, and nature, was an avid letter writer through which she conducted grand romances, and confronted the core themes of her poems in her everyday life - conflicts of religion, belief, beauty, and death.

Poet and Dickinson scholar Carol Ciavonne will discuss the continual unfolding of Dickinson’s legacy, including the recent publication of her letters and original, unedited works, her personal rituals, and the impact of Griffin Wolff’s watershed biography Emily Dickinson on subsequent research. The program will include dramatic readings of Dickinson’s poetry. Womb House Books will curate a selection of Dickinson publications and related works for sale, including a first edition of Griffin Wolff’s subsequent biography, Feast of Words: The Triumph of Edith Wharton.

Cynthia Griffin Wolff was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Professor Wolff taught English and American literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and M.I.T., and was credited with bringing long-overdue attention to American women writers. She was the author of Emily Dickinson, A Feast of Words: The Triumph of Edith Wharton, and Samuel Richardson and the Eighteenth Century Puritan Character. Her works, and a plaque on her academic contributions, can be found on the 2nd floor of the Mechanics’ Institute library.


About the Speaker

Carol Ciavonne’s poems have appeared in Denver Quarterly, Boston Review, Colorado Review, Interim, New American Writing, and Tupelo Quarterly, among other journals. Essays and reviews can be found in Interim, Colorado Review, Rain Taxi, Entropy, Parole and Pleiades. She is the author of Birdhouse Dialogues (LaFi 2013) (with artist Susana Amundaraín) and a collection, Azimuth (Jaded Ibis Press 2014).Ciavonne is an editor of the online journal Posit. She is an ardent admirer of Emily Dickinson.

About Womb House Books

Founded by Jessica Ferri, Womb House Books is an inclusive feminist bookshop amplifying writing by women and non-binary people, queer authors and writers of color, selling both new and vintage books.

Advertisement

Where is it happening?

Mechanics' Institute, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

USD 7.18 to USD 17.85

Icon
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Mechanics' Institute

Host or Publisher Mechanics' Institute

Ask AI if this event suits you:

Discover More Events in San Francisco

Auditions and Etiquette Workshop
Thu, 06 Nov at 05:30 pm Auditions and Etiquette Workshop

Rae Studios

WORKSHOPS
Amale Andraos & Dan Wood: Buildings for People and Plants
Thu, 06 Nov at 05:30 pm Amale Andraos & Dan Wood: Buildings for People and Plants

Nave Presentation Space

Alzheimer's Health Talk Event
Thu, 06 Nov at 05:30 pm Alzheimer's Health Talk Event

Rafiki Coalition For Health & Wellness

HEALTH-WELLNESS
Moon Panda - Dumb Luck TOUR
Thu, 06 Nov at 07:00 pm Moon Panda - Dumb Luck TOUR

The Faight Collective

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
2025 Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition
Thu, 06 Nov at 07:00 pm 2025 Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition

SOMArts

ART EXHIBITIONS
San Francisco Law, Real Estate & Construction Networking Event
Thu, 06 Nov at 07:00 pm San Francisco Law, Real Estate & Construction Networking Event

Soundtrack

BUSINESS CALENDAR
Gaga's DEAD DANCE: 7 Week Dance Class, then PERFORM at a Club!
Thu, 06 Nov at 07:00 pm Gaga's DEAD DANCE: 7 Week Dance Class, then PERFORM at a Club!

Smuin Contemporary Ballet | Smuin Center for Dance

WORKSHOPS HOLIDAY
Hysteria Comedy Open Mic for Women and Queers
Wed, 08 Mar at 07:00 pm Hysteria Comedy Open Mic for Women and Queers

San Francisco Eagle Bar

COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT
Queer Bedtime Stories
Thu, 01 Jun at 07:30 pm Queer Bedtime Stories

Queer Arts Featured

ART LITERARY-ART
Open Mic Night @ The Faight
Tue, 04 Jun at 06:30 pm Open Mic Night @ The Faight

The Faight Collective, Haight Street, San Francisco, CA, USA

OPEN-MIC
FREE CHRISTMAS EVE EVE SHOW! presented by Donut Worry Just Laugh
Mon, 02 Dec at 08:30 pm FREE CHRISTMAS EVE EVE SHOW! presented by Donut Worry Just Laugh

The Blarney Stone Bar

COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT
Open Mic
Thu, 23 Jan at 07:00 pm Open Mic

Sealevel

OPEN-MIC ART
Open Mic ~ Music ~ Poetry ~ Hip Hop ~ Jazz ~ Vendors Needed Wanted
Wed, 05 Feb at 05:00 pm Open Mic ~ Music ~ Poetry ~ Hip Hop ~ Jazz ~ Vendors Needed Wanted

San Francisco

ENTERTAINMENT OPEN-MIC
By The Station: Open Mic
Fri, 12 Sep at 05:00 pm By The Station: Open Mic

Youth Art Exchange Studios at La Fénix

OPEN-MIC ART
Powerful Voices Open Mic Show - Live Music, Comedy, Poetry+ More!
Thu, 02 Oct at 05:00 pm Powerful Voices Open Mic Show - Live Music, Comedy, Poetry+ More!

San Francisco

ART MUSIC
The Tell-Tale Heart: A Rap Adaptation
Tue, 21 Oct at 07:00 pm The Tell-Tale Heart: A Rap Adaptation

Z Space

ENTERTAINMENT DANCE
Queer Open Mic Night
Tue, 21 Oct at 07:00 pm Queer Open Mic Night

Strut

OPEN-MIC ART
The Tortured Poets: An Ode to Taylor Swift
Tue, 21 Oct at 07:30 pm The Tortured Poets: An Ode to Taylor Swift

Make-Out Room

ART LITERARY-ART
The People's Project: Looking Forward with Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith
Tue, 21 Oct at 07:30 pm The People's Project: Looking Forward with Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith

Great Star Theater

ART THEATRE

What's Happening Next in San Francisco?

Discover San Francisco Events