What do you think?
Rate this book
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) was an eccentric, reclusive poet, though born to a family of good standing within their Massachusetts community. She had fewer than a dozen poems published in her lifetime, though posthumously her sister found a cache of nearly eighteen hundred, all of which have now been published. Emily's style was broke with the common forms of poetry at the time, and foreshadowed what was to come. Her work was harshly criticized when first published, but she is now considered one of the American greats.
ebook
First published January 1, 1890
1583 people are currently reading
2284 people want to read
About the author
Emily Dickinson
1,569 books6,936 followersEmily Dickinson was an American poet who, despite the fact that less than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime, is widely considered one of the most original and influential poets of the 19th century.
Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.
Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.
A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/emily-di...
Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.
Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.
A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/emily-di...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
December 10, 2025
Емили Дикинсън е великолепна поетеса! ❤️
Exclusion
The soul selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.
Unmoved, she notes the chariot's pau
sing At her low gate;
Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
Upon her mat.
I've known her from an ample nation
Choose one;
Then close the valves of her attention
Like stone.
Simplicity
How happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And doesn’t care about careers,
And exigencies never fears;
Whose coat of elemental brown
A passing universe put on;
And independent as the sun,
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute decree
In casual simplicity.
A book
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
Exclusion
The soul selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.
Unmoved, she notes the chariot's pau
sing At her low gate;
Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
Upon her mat.
I've known her from an ample nation
Choose one;
Then close the valves of her attention
Like stone.
Simplicity
How happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And doesn’t care about careers,
And exigencies never fears;
Whose coat of elemental brown
A passing universe put on;
And independent as the sun,
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute decree
In casual simplicity.
A book
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
February 13, 2017
Phew! It took me two whole months to finish this book, but it was well worth reading it. Did I love every single poem in the collection? Not really. In fact, many of them were not my cup of tea or didn't really impress me much. However, there were a few gems that stood out and touched my soul. Emily Dickinson may not be my favourite poet, but I do hope to reread this book soon.
April 30, 2018
'A word is dead
when it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.'
Timeless, tender and emotional. Emily Dickinson's poems can be read again and again without getting tired of them. I certainly will and have found many of them soothing, others light as air and some thought-provoking and emotional.
when it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.'
Timeless, tender and emotional. Emily Dickinson's poems can be read again and again without getting tired of them. I certainly will and have found many of them soothing, others light as air and some thought-provoking and emotional.
December 18, 2016
I read these poems via Serial Reader, which actually turned out to be a good way to make sure I really paid attention. Sometimes, if I try to read a book of poetry at a single sitting, I find that they start to just blur past me. This way, I had more concentration for each individual poem, which helped me appreciate them more. Emily Dickinson isn’t my favourite poet, and I really wanted to give her work a chance.
I did enjoy some of these poems, but for me the regularity of the poems is a downside. I do enjoy highly structured poetry at times — I love villanelles, for example! — but with a simple form and those constant rhyming couplets, it felt almost trite to me. Possibly because Dickinson’s poetry is quoted a lot, but even the ones I didn’t know at all… I don’t know, simple a/b/a/b rhyme schemes really bore me. Alas.
Originally posted here.
I did enjoy some of these poems, but for me the regularity of the poems is a downside. I do enjoy highly structured poetry at times — I love villanelles, for example! — but with a simple form and those constant rhyming couplets, it felt almost trite to me. Possibly because Dickinson’s poetry is quoted a lot, but even the ones I didn’t know at all… I don’t know, simple a/b/a/b rhyme schemes really bore me. Alas.
Originally posted here.
December 28, 2020
Glad I took my sweet time with this one. I found some gems, while I didn't care for some of the other poems. I am also sure the meanings of some poems remain a mystery to me. Regardless, interesting.
December 29, 2020
I don’t think Emily comes across best in anthology reading.
Read
January 21, 2024Couldn’t put it down (BB)
When I said ASAP I meant it. A lot of Emily’s poems are super emo and I love it. She writes about death and loss and love and nature and even faith in really beautiful ways that a lot of people can appreciate. Good theology? Probably not. But her writings are very human
When I said ASAP I meant it. A lot of Emily’s poems are super emo and I love it. She writes about death and loss and love and nature and even faith in really beautiful ways that a lot of people can appreciate. Good theology? Probably not. But her writings are very human
September 18, 2018
I may have read some Emily Dickinson when I was at uni, but certainly not since then. However, as her poetry has come up several times in other books I've read, including Crime and Poetry and, most recently, A Killer Crop, I took it as a sign that I should (re?)read some of it.
I loved pretty much all the "First Series". Apart from HOPE (“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -..."), I found the "Second Series" a bit repetitive, although there are some lovely poems in the Nature section. The standout in the Third Series, for me, was"A BOOK" (there is no frigate like a book to take us lands away..." Many of the other poems in this section seem more morose than the previous Series, although again, I liked the nature poems best.
I loved pretty much all the "First Series". Apart from HOPE (“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -..."), I found the "Second Series" a bit repetitive, although there are some lovely poems in the Nature section. The standout in the Third Series, for me, was"A BOOK" (there is no frigate like a book to take us lands away..." Many of the other poems in this section seem more morose than the previous Series, although again, I liked the nature poems best.
August 18, 2019
As a person who hasn't read poetry since school forced me to, Emily Dickinson will always evoke memories of "Because I could not stop for Death/He kindly stopped for me..." thanks to English 1102. It's interesting to finally pick up a poet's compendium and see all that's been written by that person.
This collection made me think of painters and their "blue periods," since Miss Dickinson returned time and again to themes of religion, death, love, marriage and even bees. A lot of her poems are very similar, but perhaps it's just that someone decided to publish drafts along with finals; it's hard for me to tell. The Foreword mentioned that her poems were published thanks to two friends, against her wishes that her sister burn her papers upon her death. These same two friends took it upon themselves to edit her work based on the customary grammar of late 1800's New England, changing dashes into commas and correcting spellings. I'm not sure how qualitative such changes are for Dickinsonphiles, but I at least feel irked on Emily's behalf.
Is this worth checking out even if you hate poetry? As one of those people, I can say yes. I found myself contentedly wasting hours browsing random poems and finding salves for the soul. Here's a lovely little two-stanza jewel.
This collection made me think of painters and their "blue periods," since Miss Dickinson returned time and again to themes of religion, death, love, marriage and even bees. A lot of her poems are very similar, but perhaps it's just that someone decided to publish drafts along with finals; it's hard for me to tell. The Foreword mentioned that her poems were published thanks to two friends, against her wishes that her sister burn her papers upon her death. These same two friends took it upon themselves to edit her work based on the customary grammar of late 1800's New England, changing dashes into commas and correcting spellings. I'm not sure how qualitative such changes are for Dickinsonphiles, but I at least feel irked on Emily's behalf.
Is this worth checking out even if you hate poetry? As one of those people, I can say yes. I found myself contentedly wasting hours browsing random poems and finding salves for the soul. Here's a lovely little two-stanza jewel.
I had no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.
Nor had I time to love; but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
Was large enough for me.
December 3, 2020
شعرهای ایشون رو خیلی دوست دارم واقعاً :)))
فعلاً این اینجا بمونه تا من برم مجموعهی کامل شعرهاش رو که حدود هشتصد صفحهست بخونم و برگردم :دی
فعلاً این اینجا بمونه تا من برم مجموعهی کامل شعرهاش رو که حدود هشتصد صفحهست بخونم و برگردم :دی
October 21, 2025
I feel bad rating this because I’m not even really a fan of poetry, but am going to an Emily Dickinson talk in a few weeks and felt the need to read up on her. A trailblazer.
March 19, 2021
My star rating by does not reflect the quality of the poetry, I‘m by no means able to judge that.
It’s a challenge book, I very seldom read poetry, so I try to broaden my horizon. I struggled, so the stars are purely personal.
I liked the rhythmic meter of the poems, in this way it totally flowed. Some poems I liked very much. With most, though, I couldn’t establish any emotional connection.
Maybe I’m too critical? In my mind, every poem contains a message from the author, a story, an emotion, etc. A (for me personally) good poem somehow clicks and I get the message. Bad poems are just rhythmic words from which I cannot derive any message. Sadly, I’m not really good at poetry, so the „clicks“ don’t come too often.
It’s a challenge book, I very seldom read poetry, so I try to broaden my horizon. I struggled, so the stars are purely personal.
I liked the rhythmic meter of the poems, in this way it totally flowed. Some poems I liked very much. With most, though, I couldn’t establish any emotional connection.
Maybe I’m too critical? In my mind, every poem contains a message from the author, a story, an emotion, etc. A (for me personally) good poem somehow clicks and I get the message. Bad poems are just rhythmic words from which I cannot derive any message. Sadly, I’m not really good at poetry, so the „clicks“ don’t come too often.
November 6, 2023
„go not to near a house of rose -
the depredstion of a breeze
or inundation of a dew
alarms its walls away-
nor try to tie the butterfly,
nor climb the bars of ectasy,
in insecurity to lie
is joy‘s insuring quality“
(1434)
well, it‘s emily dickinson‘s insuring quality to write poems that bring joy.
die frau hat 1775 gedichte geschrieben. und nur 7 davon wurden zu ihren lebzeiten veröffentlicht?! ich bin wirklich too stunned to speak. wie sie selbst einem stein einen charakter gibt („beauty is nature‘s fact“), worte erfindet und komplett neu aneinanderreiht, die welt so einzigartig betrachtet, im 19. jahrhundert die religion komplett sarkastisch kritisiert.
und einen mit alldem so berührt.
„to see the summer sky
is poetry, though never in a book it lie -
true poems flee“
(1472)
the depredstion of a breeze
or inundation of a dew
alarms its walls away-
nor try to tie the butterfly,
nor climb the bars of ectasy,
in insecurity to lie
is joy‘s insuring quality“
(1434)
well, it‘s emily dickinson‘s insuring quality to write poems that bring joy.
die frau hat 1775 gedichte geschrieben. und nur 7 davon wurden zu ihren lebzeiten veröffentlicht?! ich bin wirklich too stunned to speak. wie sie selbst einem stein einen charakter gibt („beauty is nature‘s fact“), worte erfindet und komplett neu aneinanderreiht, die welt so einzigartig betrachtet, im 19. jahrhundert die religion komplett sarkastisch kritisiert.
und einen mit alldem so berührt.
„to see the summer sky
is poetry, though never in a book it lie -
true poems flee“
(1472)
March 5, 2024
I utilized this book for a college project on Emily Dickinson earlier this semester. After I finished the project i found myself continuing to read through the remainder of Emily’s publications. Needless to say, I’m obsessed. I ended up watching the series about Emily Dickinson on Apple+ and found an insane appreciation for her work. I never thought I would read through 864 pages of her work, but here I am, and I’ll probably do it again 🖤
August 29, 2025
“Poems by Emily Dickinson” should get 4.5 stars. I had never read more than a couple of homes by Emily Dickinson before. I found them engaging and enjoyable. The audiobook should have had multiple narrators because every chapter sounded like the last. After the 1st couple of days, I ended up listening to one chapter a day, which helped. I'm glad to have read the poems because she is an American treasure. I listened to this book as part of my poetry reading project. Some poems are very much 5 stars, but the weaker ones bring this total down to 4.5 stars. If you are interested in poetry, then you should definitely try some Emily Dickinson. I would suggest that somebody redo an audiobook with a different narrator for each chapter. The narrator is good, but the sameness bogs it down.
January 28, 2022
I actually started reading these because they showed up in several of the Prey novels by john Sandford, and I have this book on my kindle for ages. I probably need to read them through a couple times, like I do with any poetry I read. I recommend them to anyone who like to examine the lyrical soul of a poet.
June 17, 2022
Iets te veel hooi op m'n vork genomen, tegen de tijd dat ik bij deel 3 aankwam vond ik er weinig meer aan. Een aantal parels maar ook veel waar ik weinig bij voelde. Relatief veel gedichten over religie en natuur, merkte dat mijn Engelse woordenschat op die thema's niet zo groot is.
February 8, 2019
Poems
This is the first I have read anything by Emily Dickinson and loved it. This is a great book to sit with a loved one and share which poems are each others favorites.
This is the first I have read anything by Emily Dickinson and loved it. This is a great book to sit with a loved one and share which poems are each others favorites.
May 5, 2021
Like seeing a Thestral, now that I’ve been at a deathbed, I get her.
April 17, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
April 22, 2019
Dickinson's poems reminded me a bit of Mary Oliver's, or I suppose that I should say that Oliver reminds me of Dickinson. Both write quite a bit about nature and love. They also have a similar style using as few as words as possible. There were quite a few poems that I loved. Here's one for book lovers.
A Book
He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book.
What liberty a loosened spirit brings!
A Book
He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book.
What liberty a loosened spirit brings!
December 10, 2013
Three series are collected into one volume. Each series is organized into four parts: Life, Love, Nature, and Time & Eternity. The connection between these themes and the verse contained therein is generally clear, and the latter category is largely concerned with death—a popular topic for Dickinson. While Dickinson is known for being morose, her poems often manage to be both playful and dark at the same time. The best example of this odd combo of grim / playfulness may be one of her most quoted poems, The Chariot.
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too
For his civility.
We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then ‘t is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than a day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity.
Dickinson's life story is well-known, at least in broad brushstrokes. She was a 19th century poet who was introverted in the extreme, and eventually became an outright recluse. According to her own words, she didn’t take up writing poetry until she was in her 30s. This existence was facilitated by the fact that she was from a well-to-do family and had no pressing need of a husband or an income.
Dickinson’s introverted nature is touched on throughout her work, and no doubt contributes to her appeal among those similarly afflicted. The opening poem of the Second Series, another of Dickinson’s most famous, speaks to this aspect of her personality.
I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us! Don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog.
I enjoy Dickinson’s work, but it’s the playful nature, rather than the macabre, that appeals to me. This is accomplished by short lines, use of rhyme, or at least slant rhyme, that makes the poems melodious to the ear. I’m fond of lines such as:
Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed
God permits industrious angels
Afternoons to play
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
Faith is a fine invention
For gentlemen who see;
But microscopes are prudent
In an emergency!
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
You cannot fold a flood
And put it in a drawer,--
Because the winds would find it out,
And tell your cedar floor.
He fumbles at your spirit
As players at the keys
Before they drop full music on;
He stuns you by degrees,
Deals one imperial thunderbolt
That scalps your naked soul.
For we must ride to the Judgement,
And it’s partly down hill.
While simple-hearted neighbors
Chat of the ‘early dead,’
We, prone to periphrasis,
Remark that birds have fled!
And if my stocking hung too high,
Would it blur the Christmas glee,
That not a Santa Claus could reach
The altitude of me?
This Kindle version is readable. A common complaint about good books, particularly those that are cheap or free, is that the Kindle formatting detracts from the reading experience. That is not the case here. There is a first line index at the back. This is useful as most of the poems don’t have titles, and Dickinson’s first lines are often attention grabbers.
I’d recommend this for poetry readers.
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too
For his civility.
We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then ‘t is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than a day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity.
Dickinson's life story is well-known, at least in broad brushstrokes. She was a 19th century poet who was introverted in the extreme, and eventually became an outright recluse. According to her own words, she didn’t take up writing poetry until she was in her 30s. This existence was facilitated by the fact that she was from a well-to-do family and had no pressing need of a husband or an income.
Dickinson’s introverted nature is touched on throughout her work, and no doubt contributes to her appeal among those similarly afflicted. The opening poem of the Second Series, another of Dickinson’s most famous, speaks to this aspect of her personality.
I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us! Don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog.
I enjoy Dickinson’s work, but it’s the playful nature, rather than the macabre, that appeals to me. This is accomplished by short lines, use of rhyme, or at least slant rhyme, that makes the poems melodious to the ear. I’m fond of lines such as:
Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed
God permits industrious angels
Afternoons to play
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
Faith is a fine invention
For gentlemen who see;
But microscopes are prudent
In an emergency!
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
You cannot fold a flood
And put it in a drawer,--
Because the winds would find it out,
And tell your cedar floor.
He fumbles at your spirit
As players at the keys
Before they drop full music on;
He stuns you by degrees,
Deals one imperial thunderbolt
That scalps your naked soul.
For we must ride to the Judgement,
And it’s partly down hill.
While simple-hearted neighbors
Chat of the ‘early dead,’
We, prone to periphrasis,
Remark that birds have fled!
And if my stocking hung too high,
Would it blur the Christmas glee,
That not a Santa Claus could reach
The altitude of me?
This Kindle version is readable. A common complaint about good books, particularly those that are cheap or free, is that the Kindle formatting detracts from the reading experience. That is not the case here. There is a first line index at the back. This is useful as most of the poems don’t have titles, and Dickinson’s first lines are often attention grabbers.
I’d recommend this for poetry readers.
July 16, 2017
Sometimes I really start feeling that all poetry is the same, some random abstractness that depends on mood and shifting styles for popularity, rather than substance and quality. And then I read Emily Dickinson and realize that, no matter the mystery that surrounds her, the darkness of her life, the style of the times or how she captured the "national mood" Emily Dickinson just wrote amazing poetry. I don't know a lot about rhyme schemes or poetical forms, all I know is that, often with as few words as possible, Emily Dickinson paints a picture or lends an insight or just talks about life in a way that really moves me. She doesn't have to talk about grand historical events, or develop characters or even have lived a life that reflects her ideals, she just has to talk to me about life, death and nature and I become a better person, a more observant, quiet and appreciative person, because that's who her poems call me to be.
October 10, 2020
Not the best of Dickinson but still some jewels to be found in these poems, they have a beautiful lilt to them and a light that shines well beyond what some define as too pale a pallor. Her work is beautiful and so deeply engaged in nature that there's a lot of beauty, but they're not as punchy as some of her other work. She evidently took a lot of refining with her work over her life, and it does show in the difference between the earlier and later presentations. Still a gorgeous collection, and a good starter spot to get into Dickinson.
November 1, 2016
My first finished read for November! Serial Reader was a great way to read this collection of poems since I tend to read poetry in snippets anyway. But I may have to purchase a physical copy because I found myself wanting to flip back and forth between the "pages" on numerous occasions. Emily Dickinson covered just about every lifetime experience from love to war to nature to religion and more. There's something here for everyone.
December 27, 2017
Some of the poems were exquisite. But by and large, this is a collection of poems in praise of nature (with an odd affliction to anorexic birds).
October 31, 2019
Sebuah ingatan kecil muncul saat aku membaca kumpulan puisi ini. Saat aku berumur 5 tahun, ada sebuah lomba membaca puisi yang diselanggarakan di kompleks rumah dalam rangka hari raya Kemerdekaan. Aku ingat, namaku dipanggil saat juara dua di umumkan, namun aku terlalu malu untuk maju ke depan. Lalu ku berfikir, apakah di saat itu, di moment yang hilang dalam ingatan itu aku mulai menyukai puisi dan literature. Tapi tentu saja ada jeda panjang yang sungguh jauh sekali sampai aku mulai kembali mengeksplorasi puisi di usia 20-an dan mulai menemukan beberapa puisi yang menenangkan hati. -Sayangnya, aku lebih mencari puisi dari luar negeri-
Ada banyak kumpulan buku puisi yang ada di lemari buku eletronik a.ka ponsel, contohnya kumpulan puisi Sylvia Plath, Mary Oliver, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, John Keats bahkan Edgar Allan Poe, namun puisi-puisi yang menarik hatiku adalah puisi milik Mary Oliver dan Dickinson. Bukan berarti aku menyukai semua karyanya, ada beberapa yang membuatku sakit kepala tapi sebagian besar, aku meluangkan waktu lebih untuk mengulang puisi mereka dalam benak pikiran.
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one life the aching, or cool any pain,
or help one fainting robin
unto his nest,
I shall not live in vain
or this one
I am nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody too?
Then there's pair of us
Don't tell they'd advertise, you know!
Dan masih banyak lagi yang lain, Hope is the with feathers, atau I measure every grief I Meet, atau yang cukup terkenal
Because I could not stop for death,
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality
Ada banyak kumpulan buku puisi yang ada di lemari buku eletronik a.ka ponsel, contohnya kumpulan puisi Sylvia Plath, Mary Oliver, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, John Keats bahkan Edgar Allan Poe, namun puisi-puisi yang menarik hatiku adalah puisi milik Mary Oliver dan Dickinson. Bukan berarti aku menyukai semua karyanya, ada beberapa yang membuatku sakit kepala tapi sebagian besar, aku meluangkan waktu lebih untuk mengulang puisi mereka dalam benak pikiran.
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one life the aching, or cool any pain,
or help one fainting robin
unto his nest,
I shall not live in vain
or this one
I am nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody too?
Then there's pair of us
Don't tell they'd advertise, you know!
Dan masih banyak lagi yang lain, Hope is the with feathers, atau I measure every grief I Meet, atau yang cukup terkenal
Because I could not stop for death,
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality
will-not-finish
September 19, 2025I’m not sure how collections of poetry are supposed to be read. One poem might strike a cord, but the next one could be about something completely different, which has no bearing on you, your life, or your emotional state. So, what then? Just move on to the next one?
Admittedly, I didn’t get far here, but the whole thing just seemed daunting in that way. And the poems themselves seemed about sort of mundane things? Stuff that, while not controversial in any way, I don’t really see the point in having a poem about? Unless I’m missing some deep meaning behind each piece, I was rather baffled that the poet was moved enough by the subject matter to bother putting her thoughts in the form of a poem.
Anyway, I should probably have found a more thematically focused collection. I will say that the poem (“Renunciation”) that was given as an illustration of how her “friends” mangled the transcription of her journals did strike me as beautiful in its own way - I had fun trying to decipher what it was about. For some reason many copies of this book seem to be missing the accompanying “Transcriber’s note” that explains why it’s quoted at the beginning. It is supposed to demonstrate how the published versions of her poems were modified by ignoring Dickinson’s original punctuation (she used commas and hyphens in a non-standard way to indicate the pauses, cadence of her poems) and in some cases also replacing her original wording. The first one I could understand, especially since her handwriting made it difficult to distinguish between a comma and a hyphen. But the second one seemed completely outrageous and dampened any enthusiasm I might have left for reading this collection. Next time I’ll try to find an edition that preserves the original wording.
Admittedly, I didn’t get far here, but the whole thing just seemed daunting in that way. And the poems themselves seemed about sort of mundane things? Stuff that, while not controversial in any way, I don’t really see the point in having a poem about? Unless I’m missing some deep meaning behind each piece, I was rather baffled that the poet was moved enough by the subject matter to bother putting her thoughts in the form of a poem.
Anyway, I should probably have found a more thematically focused collection. I will say that the poem (“Renunciation”) that was given as an illustration of how her “friends” mangled the transcription of her journals did strike me as beautiful in its own way - I had fun trying to decipher what it was about. For some reason many copies of this book seem to be missing the accompanying “Transcriber’s note” that explains why it’s quoted at the beginning. It is supposed to demonstrate how the published versions of her poems were modified by ignoring Dickinson’s original punctuation (she used commas and hyphens in a non-standard way to indicate the pauses, cadence of her poems) and in some cases also replacing her original wording. The first one I could understand, especially since her handwriting made it difficult to distinguish between a comma and a hyphen. But the second one seemed completely outrageous and dampened any enthusiasm I might have left for reading this collection. Next time I’ll try to find an edition that preserves the original wording.
August 21, 2022
VI. HOPE
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
Phew, this book took me months to complete! But I'm so glad I didn't stop as some of the poems are so beautifully written. As someone who doesn't have widespread experience in reading poetries, I struggled a little with understanding some of the poems, which is why it took me so long to get through the whole book.
Emily's poems speak about nature, hope, death and love. While I didn't feel any connections to some of them, I would personally say I loved and enjoyed the poems about nature and hope the most.
All things considered, some might find this book challenging to get through, especially if you're also someone who doesn't read poetry on a daily basis. There are so many poems within this book, that it might become a bit daunting and draggy to read. But if you manage to start reading and pace yourself, you'll soon discover some hidden gems and poems that you relate to and love.
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
Phew, this book took me months to complete! But I'm so glad I didn't stop as some of the poems are so beautifully written. As someone who doesn't have widespread experience in reading poetries, I struggled a little with understanding some of the poems, which is why it took me so long to get through the whole book.
Emily's poems speak about nature, hope, death and love. While I didn't feel any connections to some of them, I would personally say I loved and enjoyed the poems about nature and hope the most.
All things considered, some might find this book challenging to get through, especially if you're also someone who doesn't read poetry on a daily basis. There are so many poems within this book, that it might become a bit daunting and draggy to read. But if you manage to start reading and pace yourself, you'll soon discover some hidden gems and poems that you relate to and love.
February 15, 2023
I don't know anything about poetry or Emily Dickinson, so take this all with a grain of salt.
I gather that the disorganized nature of the book is a reflection of the way her work was actually produced. A few titles here and there, but it's not even clear what the title refers to. A bunch of poems or fragments of poems, some seemingly connected by a theme, others not.
A really great way to publish these poems which are clearly in the public domain would be with an editor to help guide you around.
And Emily! What's with all the exclamation marks! Did you really live your live moving from one bang to the next?!?
As I said, I don't understand poetry. But I was always a little thrown by the structure of her work. Some of her poems are cruising along, I'm reading them out loud in mind, they have some ABAB or similar structure, with the same number of feet in and rhyming ends. Then, not, for no reason, so my internal reading voice no longer scans, and I wonder why. No Emily, those two words don't rhyme, and what's worse yet, they are close enough to be annoyingly even worse.
I gather that the disorganized nature of the book is a reflection of the way her work was actually produced. A few titles here and there, but it's not even clear what the title refers to. A bunch of poems or fragments of poems, some seemingly connected by a theme, others not.
A really great way to publish these poems which are clearly in the public domain would be with an editor to help guide you around.
And Emily! What's with all the exclamation marks! Did you really live your live moving from one bang to the next?!?
As I said, I don't understand poetry. But I was always a little thrown by the structure of her work. Some of her poems are cruising along, I'm reading them out loud in mind, they have some ABAB or similar structure, with the same number of feet in and rhyming ends. Then, not, for no reason, so my internal reading voice no longer scans, and I wonder why. No Emily, those two words don't rhyme, and what's worse yet, they are close enough to be annoyingly even worse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews