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2018 Annual Meeting – Amherst, Massachusetts

Emily Dickinson: In the Company of Others (Otherness as Company)


Online registration is available here!


To download and mail in your registration form, please click here.

Online registration is preferred.

In collaboration with the Emily Dickinson Museum, The Emily Dickinson International Society 2018 Annual Meeting will be held Aug. 3-4 in Amherst. “Emily Dickinson: In the Company of Others (Otherness as Company)” will feature a keynote address by Vivian Pollak, Professor of English at the University of Washington, St. Louis and one of the original founders of the Society; a lecture by the celebrated composer, conductor and teacher, Alice Parker; panels on Dickinson and pedagogy; reading seminars on Dickinson, race and gender; and poetry groups on Dickinson’s reading cultures and her notions of solitude and community. The meeting will also host the prestigious EDIS Critical Institute as well as an open Research Circle, both opportunities for meeting participants to search together for new knowledge from their different perspectives. Special events at this year’s meeting include original performances about Dickinson’s life and work; literary walks and tours of Dickinson and Todd sites in Amherst; a presentation in the Amherst College Archives; and a picnic on the grounds of the Dickinson Homestead with a view of the Pelham Hills. This is a splendid opportunity for meeting new and reuniting with old friends, all fellow travelers in reading Dickinson’s writings, learning about her cultural, natural, and familial surroundings.

The Lord Jeffrey Inn has set aside a block of rooms with special EDIS rates that are offered from August 2-4. To obtain special rates, please say that you are attending the EDIS 2018 Annual Meeting when you call 413.256.8200 to book your reservation.
A list of other accommodations within one and two miles of the Emily Dickinson Museum can be accessed here.

To see the full program, click here.

See Reading Lists for Critical Reading Groups and Poetry Reading Groups here.

Readings for Alice Parker's lecture, "The Music in the Words: Rhythm, Pitch and Phrasing in Two Worlds" are available here.

We’re very pleased to share this link to the Ko Festival website (https://kofest.com/), where you may purchase discounted tickets to Laurie McCants’s 4 August 8:00 PM performance of Industrious Angels. To purchase your discounted tickets, simply type the code word “FEATHERS” into the coupon box when you check out.



Mary Hitchcock, drawing, Amherst College
Edward and Orra White Hitchcock Papers
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections