Essential Poems

This edition collects a wide selection of Dickinson's brief but memorable poems. Bursting with insights about life, love, nature, death, and immortality, these works are among the most beloved in American poetry.

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, into a prominent family. Dickinson briefly attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's home, spending the majority of her life in isolation and only corresponding with friends through letters. While she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in American poetry today, most of her poems were published after her death.