Emily Dickinson Posters, Books, Video, Links for Learning
for language arts, literature and social studies classrooms, home schoolers and Dickinson scholars.

Emily Dickinson, American Writer, Giclee Print

Emily Dickinson [b. 12-10-1830, MA - d. 5-15-1886, MA] was the second daughter of the prominent family of Edward and Emily Norcross Dickinson.

Emily was well educated at Amherst Academy and attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley for one year, but returned home to spend her life in seclusion.

Emily, usually dressed in white, seldom left her house and had few visitors, but actively maintained many correspondences and read widely. In 1862, at age 32, Dickinson wrote to Thomas Wentworth Higginson and enclosed four poems, asking his opinion. By the late 1860s she lived in almost total physical isolation from the outside world.

Extremely prolific as a poet, she left behind 1,775 poems, though less than a dozen were published in her lifetime. Her first volume of work was published posthumously in 1890 and the last in 1955.

Emily Dickinson died at age 56 on May 15, 1886 in Amherst.

Emily Dickinson Quotes ~

• “To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.”

• “Love can do all but raise the dead.”

• “You ask of my companions. Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog as large as myself that my father bought me. They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell.”

Read more about Emily Dickinson.

The Life of Emily Dickinson by Richard Sewell - Winner of the National Book Award, this massively detailed biography throws a light into the study of the brilliant poet. How did Emily Dickinson, from the small window over her desk, come to see a life that included the horror, exaltation and humor that lives her poetry? With abundance and impartiality, Sewall shows us not just the poet nor the poetry, but the woman and her life.

White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Brenda Wineapple - White Heat is the first book to portray the remarkable relationship between America's most beloved poet and the fiery abolitionist who first brought her work to the public.
As the Civil War raged, an unlikely friendship was born between the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a literary figure who ran guns to Kansas and commanded the first Union regiment of black soldiers. When Dickinson sent Higginson four of her poems he realized he had encountered a wholly original genius; their intense correspondence continued for the next quarter century. In White Heat Brenda Wineapple tells an extraordinary story about poetry, politics, and love, one that sheds new light on her subjects and on the roiling America they shared. (book description)

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, editor Thomas H. Johnson - complete oeuvre--all 1,775 poems--available in its original form, uncorrupted by editorial revision, in one volume. Thomas H. Johnson, a longtime Dickinson scholar, arranged the poems in chronological order as far as could be ascertained (the dates for more than 100 are unknown). This organization allows a wide-angle view of Dickinson’s poetic development, from the sometimes-clunky rhyme schemes of her juvenilia, including valentines she wrote in the early 1850s, to the gloomy, hell-obsessed writings from her last years.

Emily by Michael Bedard - A young girl who lives across the street from the reclusive Emily Dickinson gets her chance to meet the poet when her mother is invited to play the piano for Emily. The girl sneaks up to Emily’s room and exchanges a small gift for an authentic poem, which is included in the book. Based on historic research, great intro to Emily for young children, ages 4-8.

Voices and Vision: Emily Dickinson video - This film illuminates the passionate genius of this unconventional recluse, recreating her environment, with commentary by Adrienne Rich, Joyce Carol Oates and others.

LINKS FOR LEARNING: EMILY DICKINSON

Emily Dickinson Museum - The Homestead & the Evergreens - The Museum consists of two historic houses in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts, closely associated with the poet Emily Dickinson and members of her family. The Homestead was the birthplace and home of the poet Emily Dickinson. The Evergreens, next door, was home to her brother Austin, his wife Susan, and their three children.
Emily Dickinson International Society - Promote, perpetuate, and enhance the study and appreciation of Emily Dickinson throughout the world.
Dickinson Electronic Archives - devoted to the study of Emily Dickinson, her writing practices, writings directly influencing her work, and critical and creative writings generated by her work.
Emily Dickinson - Cambridge Forum, WGBH
Reading Room, Women’s Studies Database - University of Maryland
Perspectives in American Literature - Emily Dickinson
Guidelines for Reading Dickinson's Poetry
Emily Dickinson Poetry - Repeat After Us, text and audio clips of poetry.
• Emily Dickinson Obituary - Springfield Republican, May 18, 1886
• Emily Dickinson at Wikipedia