Emily Dickinson

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born

in Amherst, Massachusetts, The United States

December 10, 1830

died

May 15, 1886

gender

female

genre

Poetry

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Emily Dickinson was an American poet who, despite the fact that less than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime, is widely considered one of the most original and influential poets of the 19th century.

Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore...more Emily Dickinson was an American poet who, despite the fact that less than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime, is widely considered one of the most original and influential poets of the 19th century.

Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.

Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.

Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.

A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.

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Average rating: 4.18 · 49,785 ratings · 1,304 reviews · 146 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Complete Poems by Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson (Editor) 4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 35,332 ratings — published 1924 — 71 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Selected Poems 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 8,618 ratings — published 1890 — 155 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Final Harvest: Poems by Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson (Editor) 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 534 ratings — published 1961 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Selected Poems and Letters 4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 533 ratings — published 1959 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dickinson: Poems 4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 avg rating — 315 ratings — published 1993 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Selected Letters by Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson (Editor) 4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 221 ratings — published 1971 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Master Letters of Emily Dickinson 4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 92 ratings — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Im Nobody Who Are You by Emily Dickinson, Rex Schneider 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 139 ratings — published 1978 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Favorite Poems Of Emily Dickinson 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 82 ratings — published 1978 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Essential Dickinson by Emily Dickinson, Joyce Carol Oates (Introduction) 4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 87 ratings — published 1996 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Emily Dickinson…

Quotes by Emily Dickinson

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
― Emily Dickinson

tags: feathers, hope, inspirational, souls

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“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.”
― Emily Dickinson

tags: life, love

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“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”
― Emily Dickinson

tags: life

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Shel Silverstein

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A.A. Milne

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