Tell all the truth but tell it slant...

Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth's superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind —

– Emily Dickinson

From The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998)

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) wrote almost 1800 poems. Dressed always in white, Emily stayed mostly in the quiet of her own room. Though only 10 of her poems were published in her lifetime, she is now recognised as one of the greatest voices of American literature. Her words are wise, intimate, deeply moving and still resonate with me today.

At this same time, a simple invention was revolutionising the lives of ordinary people in England: the mass production of disposable glass 'penny ink' bottles. Previously, writing ink had been a luxury only available to few. Suddenly, cheap and disposable ink bottles were available for just a penny on every street corner. They democratised writing - and therefore reading - and were in part responsible for the development of state schooling and of the penny post. The bottles are often found now, broken and discarded on the banks of rivers and midden heaps.