Title: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Author: Emily Dickinson
Series: Word Cloud Classics
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Poetry
Dates read: 24th – 28th January 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Word Cloud Classics
Year: 1890
5th sentence, 74th page: Her friend “H.H.” must at least have suspected it, for in a letter dated 5th September, 1884, she wrote: –

“This is my letter to the world . . .” — Emily Dickinson

The Poetry of Emily Dickinson is a collection of pieces by 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson, who insisted that her life of isolation gave her an introspective and deep connection with the world. As a result, her work parallels her life—misunderstood in its time, but full of depth and imagination, and covering such universal themes as nature, art, friendship, love, society, mortality, and more. During Dickinson’s lifetime, only seven of her poems were published, but after her death, her prolific writings were discovered and shared. With this volume, readers can dive into the now widely respected poetry of Emily Dickinson.

This was a really interesting read. I’ve heard the name Emily Dickinson again and again over time. But I’ve never actually had the chance to sit down and enjoy her work. Now I understand why there’s such a rant and rave about her work. Especially since her poetry is so multilayered that no matter how many times I read this, I’m going to find something new to obsess over and be fascinated by.

I haven’t read much poetry lately. It takes another kind of thought process to sit down and appreciate this kind of work. But, reading this, it reminded me what it is about poetry that I love so much. There are so many different meanings to every word and line. No matter how many times you read it, a new meaning will come to light.

Poetry is also the most emotive form of writing. At least for me. And I was really absorbed by all of the feelings throughout these poems. They might provide insight into the author, but for me, poetry is always about processing your own emotions. I could read all of these poems again in a weeks time and get an entirely different experience from them. That is just how emotive I find this form of writing.

One other thing that I absolutely adored about Dickinson’s works was that they were short. I could pick up this book and read a snippet, a short poem, feel complete and then head into the real world and responsibilities all over again. Although I don’t mind longer works, I do tend to find them a little harder to digest. I definitely didn’t have that problem with this collection!

Image source: Simon & Schuster Australia