Emily Dickinson 1830 - 1886

Emily Dickinson was a lyric poet who was sometimes called the New England mystic.

"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?"

She spent her life creating an opus of 1,775 poems, only ten of which were published in her lifetime. She knew what made poetry. She was advised to study her craft further by an editor of "The Atlantic Monthly" who never offered to publish one of the poems she sent to him. After her death in 1886 and with the help of her sister Lavinia, Dickinson's poems started to be published.

Emily Dickinson is now considered one of the great American poets, read by adults and children alike, and translated into the major languages of the world.

Emily's Childhood:

Edward Dickinson (Emily's father - left) improved his financial position sufficiently enough to be able to move the family to the house on North Pleasant street ( Above Right) where they lived until 1855. This afforded them much more room than they had previously. From her window on North Pleasant street, Emily looked upon the West Street Cemetery where she witnessed almost daily, the burial of local townspeople. In fact, five of her school friends died of consumption and were buried during her time on North Pleasant.

When She was 10:

Emily attends Amherst Academy from 1840 until 1847. Here she fell under the tutelage of Edward Hitchcock. Hitchcock was remarkable in that he was both a man of god and a man of science and just as importantly, his writing and teaching was often poetic. Hitchcock's influence on Emily was strong. Similar to many of Hitchcock's lectures, many of Emily's poems describe the changing of the New England seasons...

When She was 17:

Emily attended Mt. Holyoke Seminary for seven months. The short length of her attendance has been credited to her poor health, her fathers influence, dislike for the teachers, homesickness, and the religious fervor which enveloped the school.

The president of the school at the time, Mary Lyon, divided the student body into three groups: "Christians" those who had accepted Christ, "Hopers" those who expressed hope of accepting Christ, and "No-Hopers" of which Emily was one.

A legendary anecdote relates that during a school assembly Mary Lyons requested that all of those who wanted to be Christians rise. With the pressure exerted from the school's president all the students did eventually stand, except one. Emily explained: "they thought it queer I didn't rise...I thought a lie would be queerer."

When her father died, Emily separated herself from society. However, she kept in constant contact with friends and family through cards and letters. She remarks in a poem: "Alone, I cannot be-for-Hosts- do visit me-" Tasks around the homestead also kept her busy. She was the baker of the family bread, the caretaker of the conservatory and garden, and with her sister Lavinia, nursed her invalid mother who was confined to her bed.

After Emily's death, Lavinia found her poems. The poems, tied into packets with string, were untitled and most had never been read by anyone other then Emily herself. Lavinia thinking that the poems should be edited for publication, sought the help of Susan Dickinson. Receiving no response from Susan, Lavinia elicited the help of Mabel Todd, a move that further fueled the feud between Susan and the rest of the family. Mable did indeed edit the poems. Three editions were published, one in 1890, one in 1891 and again in 1896.

After the publication of Mabel Todd's edited versions of Emily Dickinson's poetry in 1890, 1891 and 1896, the collection of poems was locked away in a box for the next sixty years. In the years leading up to 1955 other edited versions of Emily's poetry was published such as an edition published by one of Emily's nieces, Martha Bianchi in 1914.

It was not until 1955 that the original poems were published in her original style. This caused a renaissance of interest in Emily Dickinson that led to many critical essays written about her work and many new interpretations about this mysterious poetess.