Dear Phebe: The Dickinson Sisters Go West

Dear Phebe is an out-of-the ordinary autobiography, an encounter with the myth (and truth) of Judy Wells’ own origins and destiny. Sorting through family letters, the Berkeley poet hears voices from her ancestors—three Dickinson sisters who went out west in the 1860s to seek their fortunes as pioneer schoolteachers. I loved every twist and turn of this mind-tripping story and laughed with glee when the author finds herself in the after-life with the Dickinson sisters, and then ends up returning her great-grandmother Phebe’s 100-year-overdue book to the San Francisco Public Library.
— Bridget Connelly, Forgetting Ireland

With Dear Phebe, poet Judy Wells has produced a cutting-edge work of art that combines family ancestry research with poetic interrogations. Each Dickinson sister she profiles has a unique trajectory to California; all are waylaid by what Jane Austen called “the marriage plot.” Wells sings to them, dances with them (and away from them), challenges them, excavates them from a box of letters into the light of the 2lst-century and a world they could not have imagined. This book is a wholly new form, fusing history and poetry, inspiring both disciplines.
— Lauren Coodley, author of California: A Multicultural Documentary History and The Same River Twice

“Go West, young man,” is the famous command, but young women also heeded this advice. Among them were Judy Wells’ great-grandmother Phebe Marsh Dickinson and her two sisters, Delia and Abbie, distant cousins of Emily Dickinson, who came to California from Massachusetts in the late 19th century. In Dear Phebe, Wells chronicles their stories in poetry and prose in narratives that are so compelling I didn’t want the book to end.
— Lucille Lang Day, Married at Fourteen: A True Story and Becoming an Ancestor

For more about Dear Phebe and the author, go to her website: http://www.judywellspoet.com

Dear Phebe can be ordered directly from the author for $27.95 (22.95 + 5.00 s/h).
To pay by check, make the check out to Judy Wells and contact her at jwellspoet@att.net for her address.

To pay by PayPal/credit card, send $27.95 to jwalfredsen@yahoo.com.
In “What’s this for?” include Dear Phebe, your name and address.