Emily Dickinson author page

Emily Dickinson biography

Emily Dickinson was an American poet whose work is considered foundational in modern poetry. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and lived much of her life in relative seclusion, writing nearly 1,800 poems.

Her poetry is characterised by innovative use of form, punctuation and slant rhyme, exploring themes of nature, love, death and immortality. Only a small number of her poems were published during her lifetime, often edited to conform to conventional standards of the 19th century.

Her complete works were first published posthumously in 1955, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, restoring her original style. Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death” remains one of her most anthologised works. The first complete edition of her poems was published in 1955.