News & Events Annual Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon Is Saturday, Sept. 29: All Around the Town and Back!

AMHERST, Mass.—On Saturday, Sept. 29, from 6 a.m. until approximately midnight, the Emily Dickinson Museum will host its third marathon reading of all 1,789 poems by Emily Dickinson. For the first time, the Poetry Marathon will travel from the Dickinson Homestead into town. The Amherst Town Hall, Frost Library at Amherst College and the Fiber Art Center will all host part of the marathon. This event is free and open to the public.

Each year the marathon attracts poets, writers, journalists, children, college students, families, teachers, poetry lovers and the curious. All are welcome to stay for the 18+ hours or drop in to listen for some of their favorite poems. Anyone who wishes to read Dickinson’s poetry during the marathon is especially encouraged to attend, but listeners are also welcome.

The event will take place rain or shine. For information on how you can participate as a reader in the marathon, please visit www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/events or e-mail csdickinson@emilydickinsonmuseum.org.

The marathon begins at 6 a.m. at the Emily Dickinson Museum, and continues there until 9 a.m. From 9 a.m. to noon, the marathon takes place at the Amherst Town Hall, located at the corner of Main Street and Boltwood Avenue. The marathon then continues at Amherst College’s Frost Library from noon to 3 p.m. and returns to the Emily Dickinson Museum from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The ambitious event progresses to the Fiber Art Center, located at 79 South Pleasant St., from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and resumes at the Emily Dickinson Museum at 9 p.m. until it ends.

This program is part of “BookMarks: A Celebration of the Art of the Book,” a region-wide festival from September 2007 to January 2008 that will bring to life the Pioneer Valley’s great literary traditions through film, family events, lectures and readings.

This initiative is sponsored by the Emily Dickinson Museum and Museums10, a partnership of 10 museums and friends (including Amherst College’s Frost Library, the Mead Art Museum and the Museum of Natural History) within the Pioneer Valley. More information about “BookMarks” is available on the Museums10 Website, www.museums10.org.

The Emily Dickinson Museum: The Dickinson Homestead and The Evergreens is devoted to the story and legacy of poet Emily Dickinson and her family. Owned by the trustees of Amherst College, the museum is overseen by a separate board of governors charged with raising its operating and capital funds. The Dickinson Homestead was the birthplace and residence of the poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886). The Evergreens was the 1856 home of the poet’s brother and sister-in-law, Austin and Susan Dickinson.

The Emily Dickinson museum is located at 280 Main St. in Amherst, Mass., and the official museum Website is at www.emilydickinsonmusuem.org. Hours for September through October are Wednesday through Sunday, 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; for November through December 8, hours are Wednesday and Saturday, 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The museum will host extended hours to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, and will be closed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

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