Vinnie by Janet McCann

Vinnie peers into the mind of the sister overlooked by history, who kept the household going and defended Emily’s reputation against rumor and judgment. These poems, in part based on Vinnie’s 1851 diary, help to fill out her image and give her the role she deserves.

Janet McCann taught for 46 years at A&M. Now retired and widowed, she lives with her two large, unruly dogs in Texas, and volunteer-teaches at the prison. Her work has appeared in KANSAS QUARTERLY, PARNASSUS, NIMROD, SOU'WESTER, AMERICA, CHRISTIAN CENTURY, CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE, NEW YORK QUARTERLY, TENDRIL, and others. A 1989 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship winner, she taught at Texas A & M University from 1969-2016, is now Professor Emerita. She has co-edited anthologies with David Craig, ODD ANGLES OF HEAVEN (Shaw, 1994), PLACE OF PASSAGE (Story Line, 2000), and POEMS OF FRANCIS AND CLARE (St. Anthony Messenger, 2004), and written books on Wallace Stevens and Emily Dickinson. Most recent poetry collection: THE CRONE AT THE CASINO (Lamar University Press, 2014).