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Dr. Barbara Mossberg has led an Emily Dickinson-infused life for 77 years, writing poetry since age 6 in the now-burned Altadena, California foothills, and publishing poetry and criticism since age 12; her first book was Emily Dickinson: When a Writer Is a Daughter, 1982, named by Choice Outstanding Academic Book of the Year. In 1986 she co-founded the Emily Dickinson International Society when she was serving in a federal appointment as U.S. Scholar in Residence for USIA (U.S. State Department), American Studies Specialist. As a dramatist and actor, she has written “Flying with Emily Dickinson,” about her career of lecturing on Dickinson in over 25 countries as a Fulbrighter and cultural diplomat. California laureate/Poet in Residence for Pacific Grove (CA), and author of two recent books of memoir poetry, one organized around Emily Dickinson, she is Professor of Practice in Environmental Humanities, Clark Honors College, University of Oregon.
A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown –
Who ponders this tremendous scene –
This whole Experiment of Green –
As if it were his own!
Natural History Does Not Include My Plans to Fly (revised title: “Don’t Have Bones”)Barbara Mossberg
I don’t know what I expected,In this Museum of Natural HistoryWhich turns out to be death.Once it flew.A city block of bones--Mementos:Mortal antiques,Stuffed buffalo,Mangy remnants--More, and more.Continent to continent, onCanoes, sailboats, rafts,Room after room,Always to meet the same doom, the roarOf the eyes of the hunter, silence of skins.Death’s clutter—I could drown in baskets, bins,Thousands of yearsHere as brown triangles,Some poor lady’s time.Oh, her time!In stifling caves on the cliffs,On the ice, confining plains.Silenced remains.No. None of this was real.Not I.I deny a history of skeletons.I don’t have bones.No spine that saysIf you live, you die.Get me out of here.There are artifacts--but I own a private evolution.“Natural History”Does not tell my story,My skin new and fresh.This is my time now, my baskets, my happiness,The gloryOf my mysterious flesh.
Dr. Mossberg’s book is Clown Cantos: Everything is Alive in its Own Way, Singing
Writers/people/works mentioned:
Ian Chillag’s Radiotopia podcast “Everything is Alive”
Dolly Parton’s “Everything is Beautiful in Its Own Way”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (Emerson was a guest on more than one occasion at the Evergreen’s — Emily’s brother’s home next door to hers.)
Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man
Dickinson poems mentioned:
I’ll tell you how the Sun rose
Recorded in December 2025.
(Apologies for the occasional imbalances in volume levels in this episode. I was unable to completely resolve these glitches in the recording, but have made changes since to prevent them in future episodes.)
