poet  Emily  Dickinson
short profile |              |
“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.”
“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”
“Dwell in possibility . . .”
“The truth must dazzle gradually / or every man be blind.”
“If I read a book and it makes my body so cold [that] no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.”
“I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.”
“Freedom lies in being bold.”
“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”
— Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson Electronic Archives
The Emily Dickinson Collection at Amherst College
The Emily Dickinson Collection at Harvard's Houghton Library
browse books & Kindle at Emily Dickinson Store at Amazon
Emily Dickinson entry at Wikipedia
Emily Dickinson credits [since 1989] at Internet Movie Database
character 'Emily Dickinson' credits list [since 1958] at IMDb
P o e m s
"Poems by Emily Dickinson" [Roberts Brothers 1890] Edited by Mabel Loomis Todd & T.W. Higginson
"Poems by Emily Dickinson: Second Series" [Roberts Brothers 1891] Edited by Mabel Loomis Todd & T.W. Higginson
"Poems by Emily Dickinson: Third Series" [Roberts Brothers 1893] Edited by Mabel Loomis Todd & T.W. Higginson
  | "Emily Dickinson: Selected Poems" [first publication in 1890] 109 poems from the 1890, 1891 & 1893 volumes (and before Johnson's corrections) These heavily-edited versions from the 1890s are not recommended; the more accurate editions by Johnson & Franklin {below} deliver on Emily's intentions Kindle Edition from Dover Thrift Editions [1990 edition] for 99¢ {sic} Dover Thrift Editions 8¼x5¼ pb [7/90] out of print/200+ used |
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"Further Poems of Emily Dickinson, Withheld From Publication By Her Sister Lavinia" [1929] Edited by her niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi & Alfred Leete Hampson Little, Brown & Co. 7½x5¼ hardcover [1929] out of print/used |
  | "The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson" [1890s] the public domain Todd-Higginson trilogy Kindle Edition from DigiReads [9/2016] for 99¢ DigiReads 8½x5½ pb [9/2016] for $7.99 |
  | "Emily Dickinson Poems: Including Variant Readings Critically Compared With All Known Manuscripts" 3-volume boxed set [1955] Edited by Thomas H. Johnson Belknap Press 9¼x6½x2¾-inch hardcover set [6/98] out of print/used Belknap Press 9¾x6½x4¾-inch hardcover set [12/55] out of print/used |
  | "Final Harvest: Emily Dickinson's Poems - Her Best Poems From The Only Complete Collection of Her Work" [1961] Selection & Introduction by Thomas H. Johnson approximately 550 of Dickinson's best and-or most popular poems Back Bay Books 8x5½ pb [1/64] for $13.64 Little, Brown & Co. 8¼x5¾ hardcover [1961] out of print/used |
  | "The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson" [1976] Edited by Thomas H. Johnson
definitive compilation of almost 1,800 poems, derived from Johnson's 3-volume scholarly set of 1955 Back Bay Books 8¼x5½ pb [1/76] for $17.97 Little, Brown & Co. 9½x6½ hardcover [1/60] for $23.10 |
  | "The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson" 2-volume boxed set [1981] Edited by R.W. Franklin Emily's strangeness included her publishing practices: she rewrote each poem on stationery and care-fully folded them and then sewed groups of 16 or 24 into 'fascicles' which are here reproduced, with 1,148 poems on 1,250 pages. {Besides the steep price, Emily's handwriting is difficult to read, so this bookset may not be valid for the casual student or poetry lover.} Belknap Press 11x7x5-inch hardcover set [12/81] for $252.29 {sic} |
  | "The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Variorum Edition" 3-volume boxed set [1998] Edited by R.W. Franklin includes 1,789 poems arranged chronologically (based on new dating); there are 14 appendices of tables and lists with additional information, including poems attributed to Emily Dickinson; poems are indexed by numbers from the Johnson edition, as well as by first lines. Belknap Press 10x6¾x4½-inch hardcover set [10/1998] for $136.50 {sic} |
  | "The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition" [1999] Edited by R.W. Franklin Belknap Press 9½x6¼ hardcover [9/99] out of print/used |
  | "Complete Works of Emily Dickinson (Illustrated)" for Kindle [2012]
Kindle Edition from Delphi Classics [6/2012] for $1.99 {sic} contains all 1,775 poems, with special chronological & alphabetical contents tables, plus gallery of illustrations and a selection of Dickinson's letters |
Other Works
"The Letters of Emily Dickinson"
http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Emily-Dickinson-Dover-Literature/dp/0486428583
Movies & Television, Stageplays, Other Media
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"The Belle of Amherst" one-person stageplay [1976]
  | "A Play Based On The Life of Emily Dickinson" written by William Luce, directed by Charles Nelson Reilly; performed by Julie Harris (won Tony Award for Best Actress); 116 performances, April-August 1976 • Broadway credits • stageplay entry at Wikipedia
Credo Records vinyl LP recording [1976?] 2 disks - out of prodn/scarce playtext from Samuel French, Inc. 8x5 pb [1/2011] for $8.95 playtext from Houghton Mifflin Co. 8x5 pb [1/78] out of print/many used playtext from Houghton Mifflin Co. 8½x5¾ hardcover [1/78] out of print/many used 90-minute P.B.S. broadcast of the stageplay, starring Julie Harris [Dec 1976] Kino Video color DVD [7/2004] for $19.99 Kino Video color VHS [11/98] for $39.79 TV credits at IMDb |
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"The Poetry Hall of Fame" TV series [1993]
four 60-minute TV specials, with all four hours on the DVD • partial series credits at IMDb 138 readings, poems & excerpts of Chaucer, Coleridge, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Thomas Gray, Langston Hughes, Edward Lear, Edgar Lee Masters, John Milton, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Wm. Shakespeare, Lord Tennyson, Walt Whitman, many others; participants include Stephen G. Arlen, John Betjeman, Victor Bevine, Claire Bloom {as Emily Dickinson}, LeVar Burton, Robert Culp, Jim Dale, Ruby Dee, Rachel Gurney, Valerie Harper, Paul Hecht, Cynthia Herman, Alan Howard, Neil Hunt {as Lord Byron}, Mel Johnson Jr., Richard Kiley, Stephen Lang {as Percy Bysshe Shelley}, Jean Marsh, George Plimpton, Sir Cyril Ritchard, William Shatner, Norman Snow, James Walch, Alice White, James Whitmore, Nicholas Woodeson {as John Keats}, and Irene Worth — with archive footage of Henry Fonda, Will Geer, Fred Gwynne, Jack Lemmon, Darren McGavin, Cameron Mitchell, and Vincent Price Monterey Video color DVD [1/2007] 2 disks for $24.98 Volume 1: Monterey Video 60-min. color VHS [11/98] for $5.60 Volume 2: Monterey Video 60-min. color VHS [11/98] out of prodn/used Volume 3: Monterey Video 60-min. color VHS [11/98] for $24.95 {sic} Volume 4: Monterey Video 60-min. color VHS [11/98] for $6.32 {sic} |
"A Quiet Passion" [Music Box Films Nov 2016?]
  | Announced 9/2012: British director Terence Davies is making a biopic about Dickinson; actress Cynthia Nixon is attached; filmed in Belgium and at Amherst in USA; covers Emily's life from schoolgirl days to her reclusive middle age • “An absolute drop-dead masterwork” — Richard Brody, movie critic in The New Yorker Magazine Written & directed by Terence Davies; Cynthia Nixon {as Emily}, Jennifer Ehle {as Vinnie}, Duncan Duff {as Austin}, Keith Carradine {as Edward}, Jodhi May, Joanna Bacon, Catherine Bailey, Emma Bell {as Young Emily}, Benjamin Wainwright {as Young Austin}, Annette Badland, Rose Williams, Noémie Schellens, Miles Richardson, Eric Loren, Stefan Menaul, Maurice Cassiers, Sara Vertongen, Barney Glover, Simone Milsdochter, Yasmin Dewilde, Marieke Bresseleers, Verona Verbakel DVD/Blu-ray not yet available full credits at IMDb • watch 8/2016 official trailer [1:53] at YouTube |
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  | "Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson" on CD [1997]
Volume 1: read by Stephanie Beacham, Glenda Jackson, Sharon Stone, and Meryl Streep Blackstone audio CD [12/2007] for $17.97 Volume 2 not found on Amazon (2016) |
  | "Essential Dickinson" [2006]
Caedmon one-hour UNABR spoken word CD [6/2006] for $11.65 116 poems, interspersed with several of Dickinson's letters, read by actress Julie Harris |
  | "The Great Poets: Emily Dickinson" on CD [2008] 99 poems read by British voice actress Teresa Gallagher 76-minute Naxos AudioBooks audio CD [2/2008] for $14.98 |
  | "The Poetess Sings" [2002] Conceived, Written & Performed by Carolyn Haeffner 67-minute M.S.R. Classics music CD [12/2002] 44 tracks for $14.47 67-minute M.S.R. Classics MP3 music album download [5/2011] 44 tracks for $8.99 "A Tribute To Emily Dickinson" including works by Ernst Bacon, Robert Baksa, Gordon Binkerd, Aaron Copland, John Duke, Lee Hoiby, Otto Leuning & William Ray; directed by Thomas Sinclair, accompanied by Shirley Ann Seguin |
  | "A Little Madness In The Spring: The Poems of Emily Dickinson" [2010] staged by In Mid Air Productions at the Bell & Barter Theater in Rockaway, New Jersey in April 2010 • music composed by Robert Butts, Raphael Fusco, and Richard D. Russell |
  | "Between The Bliss and Me . . . Songs To Poems of Emily Dickinson" [2013]
Naxos American Classics music CD [1/2013] for $14.29 pieces composed by Aaron Copland, Ernst Bacon, John Duke, Arthur Farwell, Scott Gendel, Lori Laitman, Richard Pearson-Thomas, and Lee Hoiby; sung or read by soprano Julia Faulkner; piano by Martha Fischer & Lee Hoiby; playing time 58:37 |
  | "Complete Works of Emily Dickinson (Illustrated)" for Kindle [2012]
Kindle Edition from Delphi Classics [6/2012] for $1.99 {sic} contains all 1,775 poems, with special chronological & alphabetical contents tables, plus gallery of illustrations and a selection of Dickinson's letters |
  | "The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson" for Kindle [2013]
Kindle Edition from Heraklion Press [7/2013] for 99¢ {sic} derived from Johnson's 1955 classic; contains all 1,775 poems, in 240 pages, with an index |
  | "Emily Dickinson Ultimate Collection: 1000+ Works Plus Biography" for Kindle [2013] Edited by Darryl Marks Kindle Edition from Everlasting Flames Publng [9/2013] for 99¢ contains a short biography and 1,000+ poems in order by first line/title |
  | "The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson" for Kindle [2014]
Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [2/2014] for 99¢ {sic} e-book is mis-named; contains pre-Johnson versions of Emily Dickinson's poems, as edited by Mabel Loomis Todd & T. Wentworth Higginson: "Poems: Series One" [1890], "Poems: Series Two" [1891], "Poems: Series Three" [1893], "Poems, 1858-1872" (archived at Harvard), and "The Letters of Emily Dickinson" [1894] |
Works  About  Emily  Dickinson
"My Wars Are Laid Away In Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson" [2001]
Fiction  About  Emily  Dickinson
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"Emily" children's book [ages 3-7; 2002] by Michael Bedard, Pictures by Barbara Cooney A young girl who lives across the street from reclusive Emily Dickinson gets her chance to meet the poet when her mother is invited to play the piano for her. Dragonfly Books 9x10¼ pb [8/2002] for $7.99 Doubleday BFYR 9¼x10¾ hardcover [3/2007] out of print/100+ used |
  | "My Uncle Emily" [ages 6-8; 2009] by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter Six-year-old Gilbert lives next door to Emily Dickinson, who asks her brother's children to call her 'Uncle'; she gives him a dead bee and a little poem to take to school, which develops into a bullying event and further life lessons . . . Philomel Books 10x9¼ hardcover [5/2009] for $17.99 Philomel Books hardcover [5/2009] out of print/used |
  | "The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson: A Novel" [2010] by Jerome Charyn "daringly told in the first person . . ." Kindle Edition from W.W. Norton & Co. [2/2011] for $9.99 W.W. Norton & Co. 8¼x5½ pb [2/2011] for $14.95 W.W. Norton & Co. 9½x6¾ hardcover [2/2010] for $24.95 |
  | "Emily and Carlo" children's book [ages 5-8; 2012] by Marty Rhodes Figley, Illustrated by Catherine Stock Emily received a mostly-Newfoundland breed puppy from her father; she named him Carlo and they were constant companions for sixteen years . . . Watercolor illustrations described as evoking the style of artist Childe Hassam. Charlesbridge 10¼x8½ hardcover [2/2012] for $14.38 |
  | "The Emily Sonnets: The Life of Emily Dickinson" [2012] by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Gary Kelley 16 original sonnets by Yolen with color illustrations, in 40 pages Creative Editions 11¾x8½ hardcover [8/2012] for $12.93 |
  | "Nobody's Secret" YA mystery novel [ages 12-15; 2013] by Michaela MacColl
15-year-old Emily Dickinson plays detective when a stranger winds up facedown in her family's pond Kindle Edition from Chronicle Books [4/2013] for $5.99 Chronicle Books 8¼x5¾ pb [3/2014] for $9.99 Chronicle Books 8½x6¼ hardcover [4/2013] for $10.61 |
  | "Dear Emily" [2014] by E.H. Gerard Fourth-grader Billy sends notes from fellow students by time machine to the poet Emily Dickinson – and she answers back with poems and comments! Maine Authors Publng pb [2014] out of print/used |
  | "Miss Emily" children's book [ages 7-10; 2014] by Burleigh Mutén, Illustrated by Matt Phelan Told by the youngest of four children adventuring with Emily Dickinson as pretend Gypsies waiting for the circus train to arrive in Amherst . . . Candlewick Press 8½x6½ hardcover [3/2014] for $14.33 author's official website |
  | "Miss Emily: A Novel" [2015] by Nuala O'Connor
Life at the eccentric Dickinson household, told from the viewpoint of the newly-hired Irish maid Kindle Edition from Penguin Books [7/2015] for $11.99 Penguin Books 7¾x5 pb [7/2015] for $16.00 Turtleback 7½x5 library hardcover [7/2015] for $28.20 |
Image  Gallery
       
       
       
Family & Friends
Emily Dickinson was born on 10 December 1830 in Amherst, Massachussetts; she died there on 15 May 1886;
her poems were edited & published posthumously in 1890, 1891 & 1893.
father lawyer Edward Dickinson [1803-74] - married May 1828
mother Emily Norcross Dickinson [1804-82] - married May 1828, widowed 1874
brother William Austin Dickinson [1829-95]
sister-in-law Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson [1830-1913] - married 1856, widowed 1895
first child Edward 'Ned' Dickinson [1861-98]
second child Martha 'Mattie' Dickinson Bianchi [1866-1943]
third child Thomas Gilbert 'Gib' Dickinson [1875-83] died at age 8
Emily Dickinson [1830-86]
sister Lavinia Norcross 'Vinnie' Dickinson [1833-99]
Emily Dickinson Museum [est. 2003] in Amherst, MA
located at the Dickinson 'Homestead' {280 Main Street} and Austin's 'Evergreens' house next door
  | "Emily Dickinson’s Home: The Early Years As Revealed In Family Correspondence and Reminiscences, With Documentation and Comment by Millicent Todd Bingham" [1955]
Harper & Brothers 8½x5¾ hardcover [1955] out of print/used |
  | "The Gardens of Emily Dickinson" [2004] by Judith Farr, with Louise Carter
Kindle Edition from Harvard Univ Press [6/2009] for $27.08 {sic} Harvard Univ Press 8½x5¾ pb [10/2005] for $19.45 Harvard Univ Press 8½x6¼ hardcover [4/2004] for $28.50 |
  | "Emily Dickinson's Gardens: A Celebration of A Poet and Gardener" [2004] by Marta McDowell Kindle Edition from McGraw-Hill Education [2004 edition] for $9.99 McGraw-Hill hardcover [10/2004] out of print/used |
L i n k s
Emily Dickinson Electronic Archives
The Emily Dickinson Collection at Amherst College
The Emily Dickinson Collection at Harvard's Houghton Library
Emily Dickinson poems, 1858-1872 (fascicles & loose sheets) at Harvard's Houghton Library
Emily Dickinson Papers housed at the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University
The Emily Dickinson International Society [est. 1988] is based in Massachusetts, USA
browse books & Kindle at Emily Dickinson Store at Amazon
Emily Dickinson entry at Wikipedia
Emily Dickinson credits [since 1989] at Internet Movie Database
character 'Emily Dickinson' credits list [since 1958] at IMDb
here on the Emily Dickinson [1830-86] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • short profile • poems • other works • works about Emily Dickinson •
movies, plays, other media • Kindle Editions • image gallery • family & friends • links
see also Spirit of America's American Poets Pages
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