This year, the Weber Reads program has focused on American poet Emily Dickinson. Russ Burrows, an English professor of 20 years at Weber State University, presented his chapter of the Weber Reads series on Tuesday.
“She lived big,” Burrows said. “Emily was shy and retiring by nature, but she was not your typical hermit. She had lots of discourse with many influential and notable people. . . . She’s second to none of our poets, and I think we’d all be better off if we were acquainted with our best writers. We’ve had none better.”
“She sent him a lot of letters and poems, but his letters are lost,” Burrows said. “If they were ever recovered, there would be grounds for a new book to be published. Their relationship was a mix of romantic and professional interest, though he was happily married and not tempted by the young poet.”
According to Burrows, while Bowles enjoyed Dickinson’s poetry, he didn’t recognize the talent he had found in her, not publishing her as often as she’d hoped, and editing her work when he did, much to her dismay.
The Weber Reads program has operated through WSU and the public library system of Weber County since 2007, promoting literacy and the study of history and humanities for six years.
According to the Weber Reads website, “Weber Reads links individuals, communities, and cultures through reading, contemplation, and group discussion of books, both fiction and non-fiction, that stimulate us to make connections where we noticed none before — between our ancestors and ourselves, between one culture and another, between the community and the individual. . . . Weber Reads also provides opportunities for people to read, reflect, and engage in meaningful dialogue, framed around a work of literature — a work which helps illuminate experiences and beliefs that transcend group values to unite us as human beings.”
Kate Richards, a junior at WSU, showed support toward the program’s aims.
“I think it is important to be in touch with literature, because it can help us become masters at our own language . . . Communication is an art,” she said. “It helps us not lose touch with reality and maintain the art of communication.”
Burrows summed up how the program works thus: “Weber Reads is a cooperative endeavor to get people in Weber County to read a good piece of literature every year. Last year we read ‘Huckleberry Finn’ and ‘Tom Sawyer.’ This year we’re celebrating Emily Dickinson.”
Starting with “Beowulf,” the Weber Reads program has moved through literary classics, encompassing works such as “Frankenstein,” and also included many important documents from the founding fathers in the series. According to Burrows, Dickinson was chosen this year for her impact on modern poetry and literature.
