DVD Review: My Letter To The World

My Letter To The World is a documentary about one of the most intriguing and beloved American poets, Emily Dickinson. It is narrated by Cynthia Nixon, who portrayed Emily Dickinson in the 2016 film A Quiet Passion. The documentary has other ties to that film as well, being produced by the same team, and featuring an interview with Terence Davies, who directed A Quiet Place. It also features a bit of footage from that film, and some behind-the-scenes footage. Fortunately, there is a lot of information in this film, with many interviews with scholars, keeping it from feeling like a promotional piece for A Quiet Passion.

Among those interviewed is Jane Wald, who is the executive director of the Emily Dickinson Museum, which is in the home where Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. Mike Kelly, the head of the archives at Amherst College, is also interviewed, and shows us some of the items from the collection, including “the one and only authenticated portrait of Emily Dickinson,” as he tells us. Kelly also displays a copy of the issue of the college literary magazine that featured Emily Dickinson’s first published work. Christopher Benfey, a professor of English, offers some interesting information regarding the earliest publication of her poetry, mentioning that the first editor made lots of changes to the poems, “changing words and regularizing the punctuation and the capitalization.” Her photo was also doctored: “They added little curls.” It is interesting that they attempted to make both the poems and the poet herself more acceptable to an audience.

And of course the film treats us to some of her poetry as well as her letters, and these really give us a sense of who she was, how she thought. Leslie A. Morris, the curator of modern books at Harvard University, tells us: “She speaks to people in a very personal way. She speaks to a deep emotion.” Several of those interviewed also talk about the musicality of her poetry, how it can be sung. There is also some fascinating material on alternate versions of her poems, plus the various items she would write on – envelopes, chocolate wrappers and so on. I appreciate that a good deal of her actual written manuscripts are shown on screen. The film also includes lots of shots of nature, for, as one person mentions, her god was a god of nature.

It is not just Dickinson’s work that so fascinates scholars and readers, but her life. She is famous for being reclusive, and not leaving her home. But that was only later in her life. The documentary mentions her dog and the effect the animal had on her life. For while the dog lived, Emily was active, walking it about the town. After the dog died, she became drawn to seclusion. There is also some mention, some speculation on Emily Dickinson’s sexuality, particularly because of that mysterious Daguerreotype which may or may not depict Emily and another woman, but also because of her love for Susan Gilbert. That material is, as you might guess, some of the most interesting of the film. But it is her writing that is at the center of this enjoyable and moving documentary.

Special Features

The DVD includes readings of several of Emily Dickinson’s poems, including “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” “I Heard A Fly Buzz,” “To Fight Aloud Is Very Brave,” “We Never Know We Go When We Are Going,” “I Reason, Earth Is Short,” “This Is My Letter To The World,” “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” and “The Dying Need But Little, Dear.” The readings are done by Cynthia Nixon and Terence Davies. The film’s trailer is also included in the special features.

My Letter To The World was directed by Solon Papadopoulus, and was released on DVD on June 12, 2018 through Music Box Films.