Emily Dickinson, 1830 - 1886

Time and Eternity

AMPLE make this bed.
Make this bed with awe;
In it wait till judgment break
Excellent and fair.

Be its mattress straight,
Be its pillow round;
Let no sunrise’ yellow noise
Interrupt this ground.

Today in American Literature

It's the birthday of Edith Wharton, born Edith Newbold Jones in New York City (1862). Her first great novel was The House of Mirth (1905), about the frustrated love affair between Lawrence Selden and a young woman named Lily Bart. She went on to write many more novels about frustrated love, including Ethan Frome (1911) and The Age of Innocence (1920), which was the first novel written by a woman ever to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Edith Wharton said, "Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope."

From The Writer's Almanac produced by Prairie Home Productions and presented by American Public Media.

Questions regarding the exam & the diary

Olivia asked:

Several little questions: when we know what short story and poem we want to
present do we have to give you the titles before the exams or do we just
come with two copies of it? Then, for the diary I surely have lost some of
the poems and I also have some where I haven't written anything on, so I would
like to know if we absolutely need to have all of them with an analysis or a
comment!!


Alafaco answered:

About your questions: you can tell me which poem and short story you have chosen at the time of the exam. Regarding your diary, all I can say is that the more complete it is, and the more it includes your comments and viewpoints, the higher your chance of scoring a good mark. If you have lost a few poems, try to make up for it in clarity, neatness and a personal touch which demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm.

All the best in your studies
R.B.