Selected Poems

by Emily Dickinson, Stanley Appelbaum (editor)

Genres: Poetry, Classics

54 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Emily 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.

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Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So enjoyable to read these wonderful poems over and over. I like that she wasn’t afraid to dwell on death and or what comes next. I also love how prolific she was and I’ve learned from that. Every little thing or thought deserves a poem with no judgement.

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One hundred and nine of Emily Dickinson’s poems have been selected for this collection. Some of her best known and best loved poems are included. Some of these poems are quite clear in their meaning, while others may have you wondering exactly what the poet meant. Be aware that several deal with with death and some are quite depressing, but there are a few happier ones sprinkled in for a bit of balance.

[Tracy Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, Emily Dickinson has been an acquired taste. I needed the time to fully immerse myself in the meaning of her poems. She is a paradox in that her brevity and style has a consistently light touch, but this is to almost obfuscate the depth of her work and the deep psychological penetration of her wit and poetry. I couldn't help compare her to Laura Riding, not because they are both female American poets, but because they are both 'aware' poets. Although worlds apart in form, each has the ability to make language reveal something very fundamental about human life and the larger mystery of our relationship with death, thus to read them is to arrive for a while at a level of profundity that seems increasingly remote in today's busy world. Dickinson has a more gently, comforting hand, it has to be said. Her images are more pastoral and, even when dark, as in the well-known opening line of 'The Chariot,' (Because I could not stop for death, / he kindly stopped for me) are rarely heavy-handed. These are bite-sized poems, written in deceptively simple metre and rhyme, but whose content and structure will leave you with much to chew over:

They say that 'time assuages,' -
Time never did assuage;
And actual suffering strengthens,
As sinews do, with age.

Time is a test of trouble,
But not a remedy.
If such it prove, it prove too
There was no malady.

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dickinson is an icon, and for good reason.
.
She dwells a lot on death and depression, but also on nature and love. There are select poems that I find incredibly beautiful and poignant, but others just don't hit home for me.
.
Some favorites:
"I held a jewel in my fingers"
"Hope is the thing with feathers"
"I'm nobody! Who are you?"
"The wind tapped like a tired man"
"'T was just this time last year I died"
"I years had been from home"
"One need not be a chamber to be haunted"
"It dropped so low in my regard"
"A drop fell on the apple tree"
"The wind begun to rock the grass"
"If I can stop one heart from breaking"
"A door just opened on a street"
"After a hundred years"
"The show is not the show"
"There is no frigate like a book"
"My life closed twice before its close"

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Dickinson closes our innermost feelings in words that you would never get to, and when you read them like that, it's like all sorrows and obstacles evaporate. A wonderful ribbon - a quiet companion in everyday life. I simply love it.

[Silvio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite beautiful, but couldn't connect to it

[Eleana Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple yet punchy poetry. Lots of beautiful images pulled from nature. I'm gonna go back to this one.

[Barbara Bosanac · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[mars!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.” <3

[Buffy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of Emily Dickinson's poems. Sadly, only 10 of her 1800 works were published in her lifetime. Now, she is regarded as one of the greatest American female poets. 🖊
Most of her poems focus on nature, life, and mortality. Dickinson's poems are sometimes slanted and written in tritameter, diameter, and tetrameter. Her poems have an interesting flow and it's something to get used to. 📃
One of my favorites is the "Mystery of Pain" because there is so much truth to it. Dickinson also wrote a few poems about The Civil War, which I read in a previous poetry book edited by John Boyes titled "Poetry of the Civil War."
I also enjoyed her poem "The Chariot." My favorite line was, "Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me." 🥀
And obviously I loved the poem, "A Book." Books truly do take us to "lands far away."
Reading is one of my favorite things to do, and I've enjoyed all my journeys. 🌏

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first foray into Dickinson's poetry, and I am absolutely enthralled. Her language has a delicate yet powerful nature, she is not afraid of the lowest lows and the highest highs. A lot of the poems touched me deeply; I felt understood.

[Lovmelovmycats Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

She's iconic for good reason.

[Aseel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Griefs
Hope
❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Kim Newman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yuck! Depressing, 99.5% of the poems were about death.