This essay was originally written in response to Randall McLeod's
"FIATfLUX," a reading of Herbert's "Easter-Wings" given at the twenty-fourth
annual Conference on Editorial Problems, University of Toronto,
4-5 November 1988, and later printed in Crisis in Editing: Texts of the English Renaissance, ed. Randall M Leod (New York, AMS Press, Inc., 1993). I am deeply
indebted to McLeod's contributions in criticism and to his friendship.
Thanks are also due to the curator and the staff of the Amherst
College Library, Special Collections for their assistance with
my research and for their many kindnesses. John Lancaster, Curator,
permitted me to view all of the manuscripts included in this essay;
Daria D'Arienzo, Head Archivist, provided critical information
about the conservation of the documents; Donna Skibel, Archives
Associate, assisted me in locating materials on bird migrations
between 1860 and 1886.
Finally, I wish to thank my research assistant, Patrick Bryant,
for his help with the many technical aspects of this project;
I consider him my collaborator.
The images of the manuscripts of Emily Dickinson are reproduced
courtesy of the Special Collections and Archives, Amherst College
Library.
Abbreviations
A Manuscripts from the Emily Dickinson Collection, Amherst College
Library, are indicated with this initial followed by the catalog
number.
L The Letters of Emily Dickinson, 3 vols. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson and Theodora Ward. Cambridge,
Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1958. Citations
are to letter number.
MB The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson, 2 vols. Edited by Ralph W. Franklin. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1981. Citations are to fascicle
(or set) number and date.
P The Poems of Emily Dickinson, 3 vols. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1955. Citations are to poem
number.