The course will be taught by Michael Braziller, the Publisher of Persea Books, an independent literary press he co-founded in 1975, which is devoted almost exclusively to educational and poetry titles. Mr. Braziller and his guest, Alice Quinn, will explore the life and poetry of Emily Dickinson. It is suggested that those attending read the following poems: "I think I was enchanted," "After great pain, a formal feeling comes," "'Twas like a Malestrom, with a notch," "It was not death, for I stood up," "My life has stood—a Loaded Gun," "The Soul has Bandaged moments," "The wind tapped like a tired man," "I heard a fly buzz when I died," "The Brain—is wider than the sky," "The Brain, within its Groove," "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain," "I saw no Way—The Heavens were stitched," and "There's a certain Slant of light." In addition Ms. Quinn and Mr. Braziller will look at several variants of these poems, all of which are available in The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by R.W.Franklin.

Alice Quinn is Executive Director of the Poetry Society of America. She was poetry editor at the publishing firm Alfred A. Knopf (1976-86) and poetry editor at The New Yorker (1987-2007). She is the editor of Edgar Allan Poe & The Juke-Box: Uncollected Poems, Drafts, and Fragments by Elizabeth Bishop. She is also a Professor at Columbia University's School of the Arts, where she has taught since 1989.