A Quick Biography of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830. When Emily was nine, here family bought a house in North Pleasant Street in Amherst. She spent most of her time, when not in school, baking, gardening, taking part in church activities, learning to sing and play piano, writing letters, and taking walks. Dickinson was very sociable during her childhood, but slowly started to grow more and more secluded. Unusual for the time period, Dickinson wasn't rigidly religious.

In 1855, Dickinson moved back to her homestead with her family, where she was born. Emily started to garden year round. By the time she turned 35, Dickinson had written over 1100 poems, 800 of which she added to handmade booklets, called fascicles. She never shared these with others. Dickinson sent a few of her poems to close friends and family members. A few of these were published in newspapers by these family members, under the title anonymous. She sent many, many letters to family members during these years. These letters were very poetic themselves, and are now published along with her poems.

During her later life, Dickinson settled into a quiet and reclusive lifestyle. She rarely left her household, although she did invite many visitors. One of these visitors was Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Dickinson continued to write poetry, but discontinued assembling them in self made booklets. It seems that these poems were never meant for the public to see. During her lifetime, Emily enjoyed many romantic relationships, although she never married. She died at age 55 on may 15, 1866. She is buried in what is now named West Cemetery.

Dickinson wrote ideas for poems wherever she was inspired. Most of her formal writing was done in her bedroom, or in the dining room. She also composed a few of her poems aloud. Relatives and friends were surprised, after her death, that she had kept most of her work private. She had sent many letters - including poems to these friends and relatives.

Did Emily Dickinson want her work published? Although she sent much of her work to friends and relatives, only ten of her poems were published during her lifetime. It is unlikely that she was even aware that these poems had been published. This question received much thought after Emily's death. She had requested that most of her work be burned, yet her relatives did not want to destroy such great writing. Included in these works are Emily Dickinson's fascicles.

Dickinson thoroughly enjoyed writing letters to family. These letters were well written, and very much attuned to the person she was writing too. Scholars believe that only one tenth of Emily's letters have been found and published today. It is from these letters that we learn so much about the character and life of Emily Dickinson. These letters are published in the book, The Letters of Emily Dickinson (1958).

Throughout her life, Emily had a special interest in the art of gardening. She can be found talking about her plants from the age of eleven. She made much use of her conservatory during her middle years, gardening to her hearts extent. Both Emily's mother and sister were also avid gardeners. Dickinson learned much about this art during her botany courses at both Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Many references to this interest can be found in her poetry.

Another of Emily's special interest included cooking. She found much pleasure preparing recipes in which others enjoyed, and complimented her on. In fact, many first drafts of her poems were scribbled on the backs of recipes and cook book pages. Dickinson often sent friends and family gifts of cakes and candies to show her affection.

One of the icons surrounding Dickinson's life is a white dress. This was a typical house garment of the late 1870's and early 1880's. Today, this dress is given much symbolic meaning, and is used to help describe the character and essence of Dickinson. After her death, the dress was given to a cousin of Emily's, Eugenia Hall. This dress is today owned by the Amherst historical society.

The subject of death appears in many of Dickinson's letters and poems. Many of her readers find this particularly morbid. In truth, her mindset was not particularly peculiar for the time period. In an age where illness often meant death, it was a subject often on many minds. Dickinson had experienced the death of relatives and friends, and so found her-self often dwelling on the mortality of mankind.

Sources: http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/