Editorial Note

In this issue, Mary Jo Bang writes that "much, if not most, of contemporary poetry is at least tangentially descended from" Dickinson. The idea for this special issue of contemporary poets writing on Dickinson grew out of a similar conviction, plus the realization that much current scholarship has been affected by poet-critics, preeminently Susan Howe, in My Emily Dickinson and The Birth-mark. Although it is coincidental that this issue is the first to appear from the University at Buffalo, it seems appropriate that it is so, given the historical importance of Buffalo's program in poetics to poet-critics and that this is Susan Howe's final semester of teaching in that program. This issue is dedicated to her, and through her to all poets who take seriously the work of commentary on other poets.

While it was impossible to invite all poets "descended" from Dickinson to contribute, this issue includes several genres of response from poets who write in various styles: essays, readings of poems, dialogue between poets, translations, reflections on Dickinson's influence, and poems. Not surprisingly, there are many intersections between the pieces. Sandra M. Gilbert, Guy Goffette, and Steve McCaffrey link Dickinson to the kitchen or food and tastes; Susan Stewart, Bob Perelman, Brenda Hillman and Katie Peterson write about meter; Cynthia Hogue, Claire Malroux and Susan Howe reflect (centrally or peripherally) on Dickinson's response to war, and Hogue cites work by Howe, Maxine Kumin, and Ben Friedlander—another poet critic who has written significantly on Dickinson; Rae Armantrout, Alicia Ostriker, Michael Ryan, and Mary Jo Bang use the word "love" in their responses.

The pieces by these poets also reflect a range of citation practices. As a compromise between traditional scholarship and poetic response, we asked contributors to provide at least minimal reference to works cited. Like many readers growing up on Dickinson between 1955 and the 1980s, some still rely on Thomas H. Johnson's edition of the poems, even while considering Dickinson's manuscript practices. We have not sought consistency, apart from the standard journal abbreviations: Fr for The Poems of Emily Dickinson (ed. R. W. Franklin, Harvard UP 1998); J for The Poems of Emily Dickinson (ed. T. H. Johnson, Harvard UP 1955), and L for The Letters of Emily Dickinson (ed. T. H. Johnson and Theodora Ward, Harvard UP 1958).

I would like to extend personal thanks here to Andrea Carter Brown, who helped initiate this issue, and to the Journal's terrific new managing editors, Mary Foltz and Victoria Brockmeier, whose energy, efficiency, and keen vision for the poetic and scholarly have contributed significantly to its final polish.