Houghton librarians Heather Cole, Emilie Hardman, and Emily Walhout in Houghton Library’s Emily Dickinson room. Not pictured: Mochi, the cat.
At the first film festival sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries, Harvard Library took first place for Best Collections-Focused Film for Houghton Library’s video on baking Emily Dickinson’s original black cake. Heather Cole, Emilie Hardman, and Emily Walhout created the video as a way to document their attempt to authentically recreate Dickinson’s cake recipe for her 185th birthday celebration last December.
The inspiration behind the video was to capture “a moment of joy,” said Hardman, who is a research, instruction, and digital initiatives librarian. It was also another way to invite people to explore the digital collections available at Houghton, which includes the largest collection of Emily Dickinson’s poems and letters in the world. Many poems are accessible to all via the Emily Dickinson Archive.
“It’s not just about research, but also about creative expression,” said Heather Cole, assistant curator of modern books and curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, who also served as camera operator, cinematographer, screenwriter, producer, editor, and music director for the video submission.
Sarah Thomas, Vice President of Harvard Library and University Librarian, accepted the award on their behalf at the ARL Spring Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She had suggested that the trio submit their video to the contest. To date, the video has received more than 4,000 views on YouTube.
“The video has charm and creativity and represents a unique contribution to our outreach efforts aimed at making Houghton Library more welcoming,” said Thomas Hyry, Florence Fearrington Librarian of Houghton Library and director of Arts and Special Collections of the Harvard College Library. “The cake itself provided a wonderful connection to Dickinson and a fitting way to celebrate her birthday last December.”
Mochi, co-star of the black cake video, with ARLie award.
The inspiration behind the cake baking came from Houghton Arts (H-ARTS), an informal initiative that Walhout, who is a library assistant, started to bring artists on Houghton’s staff together and highlight the collections through visual arts, musical performances, and more. In celebration of Emily Dickinson, an artist’s challenge was issued:
Make something—anything—
Having something—
Anything—to do
with Emily Dickinson.
Cole, Hardman, and Walhout plan to bake the cake once more for Dickinson’s next birthday celebration in December. They’ve started planning ahead, as the cake needs three months to rest per their research.
Article written by Harvard Library Communications.
Polly Longsworth and I came up with the idea for a Black Cake competition at the Dickinson Homestead several years ago.
As I remember it, my concoction based on Dickinson’s recipe, was sodden with brandy and rum; I, too, let it “age” It was delicious; but it didn’t win probably because it was too moist!
Of course, to be authentic it should be baked in a large old -fashioned milk pan as Dickinson specified. Old Sturbridge Village used to make them in tin. There are antique ceramic ones, too.
I did research on the origins of “Black Cakes” and traced them to Jamaica, or another West Indies island, where they had a long tradition of being offered on special occasions to large numbers of people. One wonders if English and New England “Fruit Cake” (possible cousins of the Black Cake) and true Black Cake recipes travelled to England and New England from the islands during the rum trade. And/or perhaps Blacks brought the recipe with them.