To Find that Phosphorescence, that Light Within

Jane Trechsel in The Belle of Amherst

Blog 65

From the December 10 entry in my book, Theatre Is My Life!

“To find that phosphorescence, that light within, that's the genius behind poetry.”

Emily Dickinson in William Luce’s The Belle of Amherst

My favorite English professor in college admired a great number of poets, and Emily Dickinson was at the top. Once for his class, we wrote a paper on her poetry, and though he liked my work and I got an “A,” I will never forget a note he scribbled in the margins. To vary wording throughout the paper, I sometimes wrote, “Emily Dickinson,” sometimes “Miss Dickinson,” and once “Emily.” Circling in red that particular citing, Mr. Finlay wrote, “Oh, you know Miss Dickinson personally?!” When I asked him about the note after class, he cautioned against overfamiliarity in formal academic work, a great assistance to me on my road toward graduate school.

Then, actually, I did get to know Miss Dickinson personally when I designed her costume for The Belle of Amherst in 1981. The actress, Jane Trechsel, a well-known and favorite Birmingham actor and Yoga teacher, is a poet herself. I was 31 and yearning to write professionally. I had sent several manuscripts to publishers with nothing in return but rejection slips.

So in June of that year, I got up my nerve to ask for an interview with Ray Martin at Birmingham Magazine. He was a wise and wary editor and was at first hesitant to give me an assignment since I had no published pieces. I somehow won him over in the end, pleading with him to let me try an article or two on theatre since I knew that subject.

My first mission was to interview Jane since The Belle of Amherst was opening in the fall and many magazine readers were looking forward to seeing her perform the role of Emily Dickinson. The chat with her was lovely, taking place on her sun porch with a terra cotta tile floor, comfortable cushioned chairs, copious plants, and afternoon light streaming in. She told me many things about the role, about Dickinson’s writing and biography, about her own poetry and family.

One thing she recounted changed everything for me. Talking about her daily practices, she explained she did Yoga and spiritual work every morning to get herself centered and focused for the day. I said I wished I had time to do that, and her response was, “Oh, I find I have ever so much more time in the day when I do these exercises!”

So (either bold or foolhardy me) I jumped into the idea wholeheartedly. The very next day, I mentally prepared for my day by reading. Quickly after, I added physical walks, spiritual conditioning, and emotional journalling. In 1998, my daughter Elin gave me Jane’s book and compact disc “A Morning Cup of Yoga” and it has become a component of my daily work ever since. Another part of my routine is to thank the Holy One for giving me my professor John and my friend Jane, two phosphorescent poets, each of whose “light within” radiated to me good and right things that transformed my life.