A Quiet Passion

Only seven of her almost 1800 poems were published in her lifetime; she avoided most company, lived in a house with her family in Amherst, Massachussets, withdrawn to a room, on her own. Meanwhile, the world certainly knows who Emily Dickinson (1830-86) is, it knows of the contribution that the American poet made, the lyrical cosmos she created in her modest surroundings. Narrowness and vastness define A Quiet Passion like breaths of air; an up and down of clashes. For Miss Dickinson must constantly defend herself – her private space, her morals, her peace of mind, her lyricism – against the intrusions of the well-meaning. And Terence Davies – to whom Bildrausch this year is dedicating a tribute programme – is building her a monument with his masterfully sculpted artistic biography; freed from all kitsch, miles away from natural poetic sentimentality or pietistic enthusiasm, or even decorative opulence, he concentrates entirely on the creative character of a writer. Who, in turn, is brought to life with unforgiving precision and bouts of short-tempered acerbity by Cynthia Nixon. A cool distance prevails, together with a blazing fire, a deep passion lived in great silence.