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The Pocket Emily Dickinson
Considered by many to be the spiritual mother of American poetry, Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was one of the most prolific and innovative poets of her era. Well-known for her reclusive personal life in Amherst, Massachusetts , her distinctively short lines, and eccentric approach to punctuation and capitalization, she completed over seventeen hundred poems in her short life. Though fewer than a dozen of her poems were actually published during her lifetime, she is still one of the most widely read poets in the English language. Over one hundred of her best poems are collected here.
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 1995
About the author
Emily Dickinson
1,329 books7,043 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...
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 18, 2026
Wonderful little collection of roughly 100 Dickinsonian gems—hits the classics and plucks some from obscurity.
Some that got my attention this time around:
A Bird came down the Walk
A Thought went up my mind today
I felt a Cleaving in my Mind
I measure every Grief I meet
I started Early—Took my Dog
I’ve seen a Dying Eye
The Brain—is wider than the Sky
This World is not Conclusion
Wonder—is not precisely Knowing
This particular go round with some Dickinson poems leaves me with more questions than answers. How did she come to allow herself to ruminate on death so much? How did she stay motivated to write such intricate poems when she got minimal if any outside encouragement or even feedback? Did she really read the dictionary as though it were poetry? She had a dog?!
One of these days I’ll get to Amherst and do the tours. Until then, let it be mystery
Some that got my attention this time around:
A Bird came down the Walk
A Thought went up my mind today
I felt a Cleaving in my Mind
I measure every Grief I meet
I started Early—Took my Dog
I’ve seen a Dying Eye
The Brain—is wider than the Sky
This World is not Conclusion
Wonder—is not precisely Knowing
This particular go round with some Dickinson poems leaves me with more questions than answers. How did she come to allow herself to ruminate on death so much? How did she stay motivated to write such intricate poems when she got minimal if any outside encouragement or even feedback? Did she really read the dictionary as though it were poetry? She had a dog?!
One of these days I’ll get to Amherst and do the tours. Until then, let it be mystery
March 19, 2025
I adore this beautiful pocket edition, not only because it is beautifully designed and has some of Dickinson’s most popular poetry, but because it is a gift from Emily from the publishing company she works at! Thank you Emily for work by another talented Emily! I cannot wait to talk about it for book club.
June 6, 2025
I still hate poetry!!! She gets bonus point for being queer.
January 5, 2026
Good selection. Got it in her house
May 18, 2025
The poems of Emily Dickinson will always be classic, full of meditations on love, immortality, paradise, life, death, and faith.
Some truly did sit with me, making me feel strong emotions as I digested her often simple but meaningful words, and others I did find to be a bit difficult to understand. As most of them are from the 19th century and merely translations of her original work, it makes sense that some didn’t quite “hit” as others did, so I’ll give her that.
Overall, I love that her work is still being studied and considered in high regard, because she truly spit some bars in the 1800s.
RIP Emily you would’ve loved Taylor Swift.
Some truly did sit with me, making me feel strong emotions as I digested her often simple but meaningful words, and others I did find to be a bit difficult to understand. As most of them are from the 19th century and merely translations of her original work, it makes sense that some didn’t quite “hit” as others did, so I’ll give her that.
Overall, I love that her work is still being studied and considered in high regard, because she truly spit some bars in the 1800s.
RIP Emily you would’ve loved Taylor Swift.
September 7, 2021
It's tiny. Secretive, just like Emily Dickinson's writing. Pack it with you for a trip or a hike or just for a walk about town.
It includes some of the best. "I taste liquor never brewed." and "Wild nights - Wild nights!"
Read one or two or ten. Don't ready too many. Just enough. 10 were published. 1,800 written.
It includes some of the best. "I taste liquor never brewed." and "Wild nights - Wild nights!"
Read one or two or ten. Don't ready too many. Just enough. 10 were published. 1,800 written.
May 30, 2020
What a beautiful little book. There are over 100 poems here which is more than another larger Emily Dickinson book I own. These poems are genius, highly recommend.
December 27, 2021
emily dickinson you will always be famous.
July 16, 2022
emily ATE. will definitely be revisiting this
October 28, 2011
"I dwell in Possibility --
A fairer House than Prose."
A fairer House than Prose."
July 25, 2012
digesting. one emily poem every so often is probably the right dose.
June 30, 2016
If you enjoy Emily Dickinson's poetry, it would not hurt to pick up this easy-to-carry pocketbook.
November 23, 2022
A marvelous perspective of life, death and immortality ❤️
August 10, 2024
brilliant woman
October 30, 2024
Few writers can turn pure symbolism into a pleasant and palatable literary experience like Dickinson. I am in awe.
July 6, 2026
I recently picked up a copy of The Pocket Emily Dickinson, edited by Brenda Hillman. This is a third edition. It was first published by Shambala Press as part of their "Shambhala Pocket Classics" series. There are a number of scholarly editions of selections and complete poetry of Emily Dickinson out there. There is a lot to roil through in other tomes as to what edition represents the real text: textual notes, emendations, and redactions already fill volumes and chapters of other editions. I have been sitting with this one since March (2026), and I think this collection is special for a number of reasons but mainly the selection of poems and the selector.
Brenda Hillman, the editor of this collection, is also a poet with eleven poetry collections under her belt published by Wesleyan University Press, including In a Few Minutes Before Later (2022). She was also an English professor at Saint Mary’s College of California. Her author bio at Shambala reads: "BRENDA HILLMAN is the author of over ten poetry collections, including Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, Practical Water, and Pieces of Air in the Epic. Born in Arizona, Hillman is a graduate of both Pomona College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has received awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Poetry Society of America, and more. Her 1993 collection Bright Existence was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize." So this is a lot of professional cred here but the thing that is important to me is that she is a practicing poet herself with an ear finely tuned to language, human experience, and the inner voice.
This edition does not ask you to study Dickinson, but to experience her work in a hundred of Dickinson’s best poems selected by Hillman. This curation of poetry sought out the "unique and gemlike lyrics...pure distillations of profound feeling and great intellect" and as the Shambala description claims, "they contain a world of imagination, observation, and precisely articulated spiritual and emotional experience." These are the poems that you can come back to again and again. If you have studied Dickinson before, there are poems here that are old friends, and then seen in a different light in how they sit next to other poems. I would also recommend this as the edition you should get someone who is not a poet, English teacher, or scholar: this is Emily Dickinson freed from the burden of scholarship!
For myself, I picked this up in San Francisco on my birthday. I turned 65 and retired. I wanted some poetry to read that weekend and for some reason, I was irresistibly drawn to this book. So the answer is yes, we do need another Dickinson. I could not have chosen a better companion for the year.
Brenda Hillman, the editor of this collection, is also a poet with eleven poetry collections under her belt published by Wesleyan University Press, including In a Few Minutes Before Later (2022). She was also an English professor at Saint Mary’s College of California. Her author bio at Shambala reads: "BRENDA HILLMAN is the author of over ten poetry collections, including Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, Practical Water, and Pieces of Air in the Epic. Born in Arizona, Hillman is a graduate of both Pomona College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has received awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Poetry Society of America, and more. Her 1993 collection Bright Existence was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize." So this is a lot of professional cred here but the thing that is important to me is that she is a practicing poet herself with an ear finely tuned to language, human experience, and the inner voice.
This edition does not ask you to study Dickinson, but to experience her work in a hundred of Dickinson’s best poems selected by Hillman. This curation of poetry sought out the "unique and gemlike lyrics...pure distillations of profound feeling and great intellect" and as the Shambala description claims, "they contain a world of imagination, observation, and precisely articulated spiritual and emotional experience." These are the poems that you can come back to again and again. If you have studied Dickinson before, there are poems here that are old friends, and then seen in a different light in how they sit next to other poems. I would also recommend this as the edition you should get someone who is not a poet, English teacher, or scholar: this is Emily Dickinson freed from the burden of scholarship!
For myself, I picked this up in San Francisco on my birthday. I turned 65 and retired. I wanted some poetry to read that weekend and for some reason, I was irresistibly drawn to this book. So the answer is yes, we do need another Dickinson. I could not have chosen a better companion for the year.
April 15, 2026
I love the story, impact, impulse, substance, and subject matter of Dickinson's life and reality more than I do her poetry. I admire her for what she found within herself during a time, and an existence, where influences were not as varied or available as they are today, or even when her discovered, private poems were eventually published in the 1950's. However, when it comes to what moves me currently, it does not translate. Maybe some day it will touch me, but it didn't when I first studied Dickinson in my college years, and decades later, it still doesn't.
April 7, 2026
I have no idea how this girl really sat down and wrote these poems. She had an amazing mind. One of my favorite ones was:
I stepped from Plank to Plank
A slow and cautious way
The Stars about my Head I felt
About my Feet the Sea.
I knew not but the next Would be my final inch - This gave me that precarious Gait
Some call Experience.
I stepped from Plank to Plank
A slow and cautious way
The Stars about my Head I felt
About my Feet the Sea.
I knew not but the next Would be my final inch - This gave me that precarious Gait
Some call Experience.
December 17, 2022
My favorite poet right now, maybe always.
March 8, 2023
truly the mother of american poetry and early femme-introspection
October 4, 2024
Dickinson is always magnificent, but I feel like this collection missed some of her most interesting and beautiful poems...
March 4, 2025
It is probably a 5 star book but my stupid self cannot comprehend all the beauty of her words...
So it lost a star for the ones I didn t get lol
So it lost a star for the ones I didn t get lol
January 31, 2026
nothing better than a friend like Emily.
April 18, 2010
Just the right size to celebrate "Poem in Your Pocket" day on April 29th.
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406
July 6, 2014
شاعرة صافية من شوائب الإصطناع
أحببت شعرها الجميل جدّاً
أحببت شعرها الجميل جدّاً
November 30, 2025
August
Emily Dickinson, I love you.
Emily Dickinson, I love you.
January 17, 2026
I wanted to see what the Emily Dickinson fuss was about but admittedly, I have no idea what's going on in most of her poems.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews