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[*”Emmett Till”: The footnote on page 4 of Mailing #1 refers to the murder of the 14-year-old boy. The editors of the anthology Mandals: Literature for Critical Analysis first noted the legendary quality intended in this poem. Chaucer’s story of the rumored whistling by the murdered boy whose throat was cut in the ghetto, as remembered by the poet in this case, made the connection with Emmett Till that inspired the writing of the poem.*]
Emmett Till1
I hear a whistling
Through the water.
Little Emmett
Won’t be still.
He keeps floating
Round the darkness,
Edging through
The silent chill.
Tell me, please,
That bedtime story
Of the fair
River Boy
Who swims forever,
Deep in treasures,
Necklaced in
A coral toy.
1963
1963
1In 1955, Till, a fourteen-year-old from Chicago, for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, was murdered by white men who tied a gin mill fan around his neck and threw his body into the Tallahatchie River.
[*The footnote in the widely-known The Norton Introduction to Poetry, 3d edn, 1986, reads: “In 1955, a fourteen-year-old from Chicago, was lynched in Mississippi for allegedly making improper advances toward a white woman.”*]](https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/system/resource/9/a/9/9a9bb7e2-4260-43d7-a93b-b61751891f6f/attachment/10c5511aa0d725d51e9e5a937fa5a868.jpg)
![183
[*”Emmett Till”: The footnote on page 4 of Mailing #1 refers to the murder of the 14-year-old boy. The editors of the anthology Mandals: Literature for Critical Analysis first noted the legendary quality intended in this poem. Chaucer’s story of the rumored whistling by the murdered boy whose throat was cut in the ghetto, as remembered by the poet in this case, made the connection with Emmett Till that inspired the writing of the poem.*]
Emmett Till1
I hear a whistling
Through the water.
Little Emmett
Won’t be still.
He keeps floating
Round the darkness,
Edging through
The silent chill.
Tell me, please,
That bedtime story
Of the fair
River Boy
Who swims forever,
Deep in treasures,
Necklaced in
A coral toy.
1963
1963
1In 1955, Till, a fourteen-year-old from Chicago, for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, was murdered by white men who tied a gin mill fan around his neck and threw his body into the Tallahatchie River.
[*The footnote in the widely-known The Norton Introduction to Poetry, 3d edn, 1986, reads: “In 1955, a fourteen-year-old from Chicago, was lynched in Mississippi for allegedly making improper advances toward a white woman.”*]](https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/system/resource/9/a/9/9a9bb7e2-4260-43d7-a93b-b61751891f6f/attachment/medium-077f6814190670333e2c14a06d2ba817.jpg)
Emmett Till (with annotations)
Full description
Poem written by Emanuel in 1963, dedicated to Emmett Till, with extra sheet of annotations attached. Emanuel uses natural imagery to create a somber but mystical atmosphere.
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- typeImage
- created on
- file formatjpg
- file size764 kB
- container titleJames A. Emanuel Papers
- creatorJames A. Emanuel
- issueBOX 5 FOLDER 12 "Whole Grain and Later Poems of James A. Emanuel (Annotated by the Auhtor), draft, part I, 1995 (2 of 2)
- rightsJames A. Emanuel Estate
- rights holderJames A. Emanuel Estate
- version1963