I Cannot Dance Upon My Toes - Emily Dickinson -
poetry in america

"I cannot dance upon my toes," Emily Dickinson writes -- "no man instructed me." Join host Elisa New, actor Cynthia Nixon, cellist Yo Yo Ma, dancer and choreographer Jill Johnson, and poet Marie Howe in an exploration of the challenges of art and audience across time, space, and artistic medium.

Duration: 26 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 101

About Poetry In America:

The 12-part series POETRY IN AMERICA draws students of all ages into conversations about poetry.

Hosted by Harvard University professor Elisa New, each half-hour episode highlights the work of one distinguished poet (Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks) with a reading by an individual well known for accomplishments outside the humanities (actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, Grammy-Award winner Herbie Hancock; former vice president Joe Biden, and rapper/poet Nas), as well as a chorus of others, including: a chorus of pick-up basketball players, young naturalists at the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and students at the Parsons School of Design.

The fast-moving, beautifully shot series offers viewers a fully immersive experience in hearing, reading, and interpreting a single American poem.

Scholar Elisa New opens a conversation about poetry and encourages viewers at home to extend the discussion past the episode's end.

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