| Emily Dickinson is buried in West
Cemetery, Amherst, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, America.
Gravestone of Emily Dickinson
Emily was
educated at Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoake.
As a young woman she was outgoing and sociable but gradually she
began to withdraw from the world until, by the age of 30, she was a
virtual recluse. She was however a prolific letter writer and
corresponded, in particular, with Samuel Bowles, the editor of the
Springfield Republican.
During her lifetime she had only a handful of poems published and
these were heavily edited.
After Emily's death, her sister discovered more than 1800 of her
poems in a dresser drawer in her house in Amherst. These poems
were finally published in 1890 (edited by Mabel Loomis Todd and T.W.
Higginson) - with their original punctuation and presentation
restored.
At first Emily was regarded as a quirky, minor poet but her
reputation has grown steadily and she is seen today as having a unique
voice and style.
Emily's poetry reflected her powerful sense of isolation and
inner conflict.
She is sometimes known as the 'Belle' or 'Nun of Amherst'.
| Because I could not stop
for Death - |
| He kindly stopped for me
- |
| The Carriage held but
just Ourselves - |
| And Immortality. |
|
From 'Because I could not stop for Death'
(complete poem)
|
|
