Celebrating Emily Dickinson, Poetry's Favorite "Nobody"

Emily Dickinson is one of America's great poets and is a familiar name to many literature lovers. Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems, but fewer than a dozen were published while she was alive. The first volume of her work was published in 1890.

It’s the celebrated poet’s birthday on December 10, so what better way to learn more about her than diving into some books about her? Her life has inspired a wide range of material, from speculative novels to illustrated children's books to an examination of her plants.

Read more of her original work at poets.org. Check out previous NYPL blog posts exploring her life as a music collector. Also, don’t miss the images of her in NYPL’s Digital Collections. 

For the busy reader

The Essential Emily Dickinson: Poems
Joyce Carol Oates wrote the introduction and selected the poems for this slim volume, published in 2016. 

For the Dickinson completist

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
This comprehensive 770-page tome, originally released in 1955, contains all of her published poems.

For kids

Emily Dickinson: Poetry for Kids, edited by Susan Snively and illustrated by Christine Davenier
This book, organized by seasons and illustrated with delicate pen-and-watercolor art, offers young readers an accessible glimpse into Dickinson’s work. 

Emily Dickinson, edited by Frances Schoonmaker and illustrated by Chi Chung
Another beautifully illustrated version of her Dickinson’s work, including some of her most famous works such as “Hope is the thing with feathers” and “I'm nobody! Who are you?”

For teens & tweens

The Emily Sonnets: The Life of Emily Dickinson by Jane Yolen
The story of Dickinson’s life told (creatively) in 15 sonnets.

Becoming Emily: The Life of Emily Dickinson by Krystyna Poray Goddu
A great biographical introduction to Dickinson for middle-grade readers, perfect for fans of her poetry or interesting people in general.

For the fiction-lover

Miss Emily by Nuala O’Connor
The story of Dickinson’s life told from two perspectives: her own, and her family’s maid who’d recently emigrated from Ireland.

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson: A Novelby Jerome Charyn
This speculative novel imagines what Dickinson’s life might have looked like, if she’d harbored a lifelong crush on a dude named Tom while nurturing her poetic instincts. 

For the biographer

A Loaded Gun: Emily Dickinson for the 21st Century by Jerome Charyn
Nonfiction by the same author who wrote the novel above. Charyn uses “literary sleuthing” to uncover some of the poet’s deeply held secrets about her work, her sexuality, and more.

Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life: The Plants & Places that Inspired the Iconic Poet by Marta McDowell
This unusual biography takes a look at Dickinson’s life through the lens of greenery in and around her home in Amherst, Mass., and includes an annotates list of her plants.

For the armchair critic

Essential Essays: Culture, Politics, and the Art of Poetryby Adrienne Rich
Dickinson’s work is the subject of one of essays in this volume, which covers many feminist and proto-feminist authors as well as politics and other issues of the day.

---

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!