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Revision as of 17:49, 29 March 2003 by Maschorr (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 - 1886), nineteenth century United States poet was born in Amherst, Massachusetts to a prominent family known for support of the local educational institutions.
During a religious revival that swept Western Massachusetts during the decades of 1840-50, Dickinson found her vocation as a poet. One of her biographers has compared this process to that of Jacob wrestling with the angel.
Dickinson lived most of her life in the house in which she was born, made a few trips to visit relatives in Boston, Cambridge, and Connecticut. Most of her work is not only reflective of the small moments of what happens around her, but also of the larger battles and themes of what was happening in the larger society. For example, over half of her poems were written during the years of the American Civil War, and, in the words of one of her most remembered poems, tell all the truth but tell it slant.
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant -- Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise ...