Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Emily Dickinson and UltraRunning




Adding to a previous Emily Dickinson post, you should go to this site, now, and take the time to scroll through all the pages.


Our society seems preoccupied with the dangers that one might encounter outdoors.  Perhaps that's one of the reasons I am drawn to ultrarunning, because in our world it is quite unremarkable to run alone in the backcountry, or to run at night.  So imagine my joy at finding this wondrous word image (on pg 6):

When much in the woods, as a little girl, I was told that the snake would bite me, that I might pick a poisonous flower, or goblins kidnap me; but I went along and met no one but angels, who were far shyer of me than I could be of them, so I haven't that confidence in fraud which many exercise.

Many imagine Ms. Dickinson as being a fragile waif, living indoors in a world of words.  I imagine her as an ultrarunner.

As I've said before, time to get cracking on my Ms. Dickinson reading.  There are undoubtedly more delightful treasures to be found....

(Photo from http://www.unc.edu/~gura/dickinson/index.html )

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