Emily Dickinson(1830-1886)

Emily Dickinson, a shy, unassuming, educated woman, was a poet of extraordinary talent. During her lifetime, only seven of her poems were published, although upon her death, she had written an amazing 2,000 poems. Many of these were not finished. Her grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson, was one of the founders of Amherst College, and her father served as the lawyer and treasurer for the institution. Her father was a politician, and served in powerful positions on the General Court of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. She suffered from persistent eye problems for most of her life. After the late 1860s, Dickinson never left the boundaries of her family's property in Massachusetts, and prior to that, had traveled seldom. Living a life of seclusion, she daydreamed and read, and thankfully, wrote some of the most inspiring, creative poems of her generation. For inspiration and reference, she often drew from the Bible, classical mythology, and Shakespeare. The year preceding her death she was bedridden. Dickinson died at age 55 in her family's home where she had lived her entire life.