October 9, 2006
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417
AMHERST, Mass.—The Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead and The Evergreens hosts “‘Silence as a Company’: Quiet Time at the Dickinson Homestead,” on Thursday, Oct. 26. From 10 a.m. to 12 noon, the Homestead doors will be open to visitors seeking a brief respite from cell phones, beeping handhelds and other unwanted distractions.
The program takes its name from a line in Emily Dickinson’s “To own the Art within the Soul” (Fr 1091). The “quiet time” program is not intended as an occasion for touring the poet’s home. Instead, visitors are invited to read silently, write or sketch. Portable chairs and copies of Emily Dickinson's poetry will be available for use in the house. Staff will circulate throughout the house during this time to provide assistance. A $5 donation is requested.
As our lives today seem busier than ever, we all need time for quiet and reflection,” said Cindy Dickinson, the museum’s director of programming and interpretation. “We hope that our new program will provide companionable peace for those seeking some calm, and opportunity to read some of Dickinson’s poetry or even to be inspired to write their own.”
The Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead and The Evergreens is owned by the Trustees of Amherst College. In October, the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 1-5 p.m. The museum is a member of Museums10, a partnership of 10 museums in the Pioneer Valley. For more information about the museum, please call 413/542-8161 or visit the museum’s website.
###