Emily Dickinson

a.k.a. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson

Author Code: AEDX

Emily was educated at Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. After a year at the Seminary, she left to return to her home in Amherst. Inspired by Emerson and the Brownings, Dickinson began to write verse from about 1850. Her poetry concentrated principally on love, death and nature. During her lifetime, only seven of her poems were published. Five of these were printed in the Springfield Republican by the editors Samuel Bowles and Dr. Josiah Holland, both of whom were close friends and admirers of her work. In 1862, she became acquainted with Thomas Higginson who immediately recognized her immense talent. Nevertheless, he advised her not to publish her poems. Thus, it was not until after her death that the bulk of her poems began to appear. Dickinson was a prolific writer and during the Civil War alone, she is said to have produced over 800 poems. After her death, her sister Lavinia brought out three volumes of Emily's work, the first of which appeared in 1891 and was tremendously popular. Further volumes of poems were published during the early part of the 20th century by Emily's niece, Martha Dickinson Bianchi. By 1945, all of the more than 1800 poems had been published. Dickinson is considered to be one of the most innovative and sophisticated American poets of the 19th century.