Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Though almost unknown and nearly unpublished in her own lifetime, Dickinson has since come to be regarded along with Walt Whitman as one of the two great American poets of the 19th century. Often called reclusive, Dickinson lived nearly her whole life at the Dickinson Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Family background

Dickinson was born in Amherst in western Massachusetts to a prominent family. The extended Dickinson family was spread across much of the Connecticut River Valley and was known for its work in the local politics, education, and business. Her grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson (1775–1838), was one of the founders of Amherst College, whose campus stands less than a mile from the family's home.

Related Topics:
Western Massachusetts - Connecticut River Valley - 1775 - 1838 - Amherst College

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Her father, Edward Dickinson (1803–1874), was a lawyer and treasurer for the college. He was also politically prominent, serving on the Massachusetts General Court from 1838 to 1842, the Massachusetts Senate from 1842 to 1843, and the U.S. House of Representatives (to which he was elected as a Whig candidate in 1852). Among his projects was extending a railroad into Amherst; when he succeeded he became for a time the president of the Amherst & Belchertown Railroad. Edward Dickinson has often been described as a stern patriarch, even as a household tyrant; other biographers have disagreed, though, calling him a good father by 19th-century standards though a bit distant, professional, and cold. He was, in any case, well-educated and well-read, valued education for his daughters as well as his son, and had a wide circle of social contacts among America's powerful and learned classes.

Related Topics:
Edward Dickinson - 1803 - 1874 - Massachusetts General Court - 1838 - 1842 - Massachusetts Senate - 1843 - U.S. House of Representatives - Whig - 1852 - Railroad

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His wife, and the poet's mother, was Emily Norcross Dickinson (1804–1882). She was quiet and deferential, even meek; when her father spoke, the daughter wrote critically, her mother "trembled, obeyed, and was silent." Her chronic illness was a source of anxiety to her children, but the poet primarily expressed disappointment with her mother's submissive personality.

Related Topics:
1804 - 1882

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The poet's siblings played important roles in her life, as friends and companions. William Austin Dickinson (1829–1895), usually known by his middle name, was her older brother, later married her friend Susan Gilbert in 1856 and made his home next door to the house in which Emily lived most of her life. He was among Emily Dickinson's closest confidants. Their younger sister, Lavinia Norcross Dickinson (1833–1899), often known as "Vinnie," was also close to the poet, and, after Emily's death, she encouraged the posthumous editing and publication of her sister's poetry.

Related Topics:
1829 - 1895 - 1856

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