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Emily Dickinson" Poems and Letters
2 Cassettes
Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Emily Dickinson
1,328 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 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2019
Sadly, I’d not read many poems by Dickenson before, and didn’t know much about her. I found this audiobook a great introduction. Interspersed between the poems and letters is a narrative about her life. What comes through is a picture of a remarkable woman.
Having tried to get a few poems published and being told her poetry was unusual and not publishable, she wrote anyway…for herself…alone. The poetry within her had to get out, but the only available outlet was to write and lock the poems away. No one really knew she was cranking out many hundreds of poems—some of the greatest American poetry—until after her death. This is hard to imagine today, in a time when many of us broadcast the tiniest details of our lives online.
Her poems depict an interesting view of the world. Her physical world consisted of her house and garden, which she rarely left. She had a few close friends with whom she corresponded. So her poetry explores the part of nature she saw—the birds and butterflies and flowers—and the love she felt for friends and family. She also wrote of the fame she never saw during her lifetime, but seemed glad to have missed. These are poems borne of physical isolation from others, from within an enclave where the only connection to other people is through the magic of words.
That’s the other aspect of this book I found intriguing. Her letters are nearly as fascinating as her poems. As you read or listen to the letters, you could imagine someone writing them to you, and you puzzling over them, wondering what she meant. But her strong emotional linkage to her correspondents always comes through. These are the letters of a loving poet.
I listened to the audiobook, so had the advantage of not knowing the syntax or punctuation of her poems. Evidently, she wrote them differently than the form in which they were published. Overall, it’s a lovely book and I recommend it.
Having tried to get a few poems published and being told her poetry was unusual and not publishable, she wrote anyway…for herself…alone. The poetry within her had to get out, but the only available outlet was to write and lock the poems away. No one really knew she was cranking out many hundreds of poems—some of the greatest American poetry—until after her death. This is hard to imagine today, in a time when many of us broadcast the tiniest details of our lives online.
Her poems depict an interesting view of the world. Her physical world consisted of her house and garden, which she rarely left. She had a few close friends with whom she corresponded. So her poetry explores the part of nature she saw—the birds and butterflies and flowers—and the love she felt for friends and family. She also wrote of the fame she never saw during her lifetime, but seemed glad to have missed. These are poems borne of physical isolation from others, from within an enclave where the only connection to other people is through the magic of words.
That’s the other aspect of this book I found intriguing. Her letters are nearly as fascinating as her poems. As you read or listen to the letters, you could imagine someone writing them to you, and you puzzling over them, wondering what she meant. But her strong emotional linkage to her correspondents always comes through. These are the letters of a loving poet.
I listened to the audiobook, so had the advantage of not knowing the syntax or punctuation of her poems. Evidently, she wrote them differently than the form in which they were published. Overall, it’s a lovely book and I recommend it.
April 6, 2019
Can #goodreads correct the wrong entry “by Enily” instead of “by Emily, please?!? Wow, about the book, this is amazing and I know I will go through it more than once!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews