Emily Dickinson: A Biography (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780313322068)

Using updated scholarship and never before published primary research, this new biography peels away the myths surrounding Emily Dickinson and takes a fresh look at the complex and busy life of this genius of American letters. As a research tool, the volume is also useful for its explanation of current nomenclature for the poems, mysteries and controversies, and the poet's influence on American poetry and culture.

Emily Dickinson saw fewer than a dozen of her poems published in her lifetime, but she has since become one of the most revered and beloved of all American poets. As a shy woman living in 19th century New England, Dickinson wrote about large subjects through close observation of small, everyday details. After her death, her sister found more than 1,775 poems and solicited help in seeing them into print. Dickinson preferred to live most of her life at home among those she loved, but over time, some of the more unusual facts of her life became mythologized and distorted. Using updated scholarship and never before published primary research, this new biography peels away the myths surrounding Emily Dickinson and takes a fresh look at the complex and busy life of this genius of American letters.

As a research tool, the volume is also useful for its explanation of current nomenclature for the poems, mysteries and controversies, and the poet's influence on American poetry and culture. A chronology is set alongside significant historical and cultural events of the period. Also included are locations of major holdings for Dickinson study, a listing of poems published in her lifetime, and a full bibliography of primary and secondary sources.

Author: Connie Ann Kirk
ISBN-10: 0313322066
ISBN-13: 9780313322068
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Language: English
Published: 06/30/2004
Pages: 176
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 9.56h x 6.44w x 0.85d

Review Citation(s):
American Reference Bks Annual 01/01/2005 pg. 504