The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
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Book Reviews of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Book Review: Emily Dickinson: A True Original
Summary: 5 Stars
Emily Dickinson, who lived from 1830 to 1886, is to me the symbol of a poet with a unique and distinctive voice, a voice that seemed strange to her contemporaries but that gradually came to be recognized and cherished by lovers of poetry everywhere.She led a life withdrawn from the world and, in some ways, reality as most of us know it, for she lived mainly in her imagination. She found no recognition in her day and only six of her poems were published, all modified and conventional-ized by the editors to suit their readers, who liked old-fashioned verse and were not appreciative of new styles and innovative forms. But that didn't seem to bother Dickinson too much. In fact, she didn't even seem to take too much pride in her talent, even if she knew the full extent of it. For one thing, she kept it very private, except with a few correspondents. In fact, her poetry wasn't even discovered until after her death. Her sister went through her belongings in her room and found the many, many loose scraps of paper covered with poems that had been written down through the decades by Dickinson. So, although she was never to attain fame and success in her lifetime ("fame is a bee. / It has a song-- / It has a sting-- / Ah, too, it has a wing"), she eventually had to settle for "fame of the mind"--recognition of her talent in her own mind. It was for posterity to discover her. That didn't take long. Her first collection was put out only a short 4 years after her death.
The specific reason why so little of her poetry found its way in print while she was still alive was, largely, because her use of metre, punctuation, and rhyme was so irregular and unusual. Editors mistook her offbeat application of these elements as flaws of "technical imperfections". They did not understand that these "imperfections" were not mistakes at all on her part, but rather, poetic experimentations. But their error can be well understood, of course, when one realizes that what Emily Dickinson was doing was something they just had not seen attempted, by anyone. Even Walt Whitman, another highly experimental American poet of the time, was doing something completely different from her poetry. But like his poetry, hers too was considered uncontrolled and eccentric. It seemed to follow no set of rules for verse in a time when poetry had very clearly defined rules of composition.
Times have completely changed and poets today enjoy the fredom of unlimited expression. No longer are there any set rules for this or that, and all styles, forms and uses of punctuation (or lack of) are acceptable. In fact, newness and innovation are now considered a plus, all thanks to true and pioneering originals like Emily Dickinson.
David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"
Book Review: Johnson Edition
Summary: 5 Stars
So, here's the deal, boys and girls. There are two versions of the reading edition of Emily Dickinson's poems that are usable. And by usable, I mean that the texts (note the work "texts") are what Emily Dickinson wanted the texts to be. The first version is, as I read the description of the volume in question, is the Thomas H. Johnson text. Now, friends, (excuse me if I seem patronizing, but as a Dickinson scholar, long of tooth, and weary of stupidity, I have my prejudices), Johnson's text has been a fully acceptable and competent version since it was published as the authoritative Dickinson in 1955 (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press issued the variorum, three volume version of all the authoritative poems in the same year.) This is cool. The newest version of Emily Dickinson poems was edited by R.W. Franklin, and the readers' edition was published in 1999. There is also a new variorum edition published by Belknap Press of Harvard and edited by Franklin. So. I am boring you with all of this detail to tell you that the Johnson texts are good texts. If you are serious about Dickinson--meaning if you actually care about what she wrote on the page--the Johnson and the Franklin will give accurate texts. F.W. Franklin has been working on details where Johnson lacked insight since the '60's. He knows whereof he speaks, and he has done his utmost to reassemble Ms. Dickinson's original manuscripts in their proper order. Previous versions of the poems--those before Johnson and Franklin--regularized rhyme and otherwise abrogated the accuracy of the poems. They were cleaned up according to late 19th century standards, and the texts--despite editorial comments to the contrary--are corrupt. That means that they are inaccurate. So, dear friends, if you want Emily Dickinson with accuracy--despite the rapturous testimony of some reviewers--go for the Johnson or Franklin texts. The others are mostly fraudulent. And in case you actually care, my credentials are respectable, and I don't work for a publisher. Use Johnson if you have him with confidence. Franklin is most current and should be impeccable. Other texts, including some that are in supposedly respectable American literature anthologies, may be suspect. (One of the most respectable uses texts that derive from late 19th century texts that were declared corrupt some 40 years ago.) So--hope this is of some use.Book Review: Great collection of poetry!
Summary: 5 Stars
Dickinson is probably the one poet who best personifies mood, emotion, fears, hopes, dreams, and time and eternity with such few words and in the most illustrative way. Most of her subjects are ones we readily identify with--love, death, nature, religion, passage of time. Her ability to make so much out of so little is truly a gift, and, while her poetry can be a little hard to grasp at first, it is quite powerful if you pursue it. For this reason this volume of her poems is a treasure for anyone who loves poetry, or the power of its message.
Many of her poems have an ironic twist to them, or a paradoxical message. Consider the few first lines of "The soul unto itself", where the dual nature of the soul--good and bad--is explored:
"The soul unto itself
Is an imperial friend--
Or the most agonizing spy
An enemy could send..."
Another one of her poems, "Each life converges to some center" evokes the idea that we are part of some bigger plan in the universe. She clearly has a knack for taking the reader along on the journey in the poem, and feeling its magnitude along with the speaker.
In "The Future never spoke," Dickinson personifies the future as indifferent and unpredictable, a mysterious entity that has a will of its own:
"The Future never spoke,
Nor will he, like the Dumb,
Reveal by sign or syllable
Or his profound to Come.."
The power of Dickinson's words come to life in this book, and this is one of the best collections out there of her poems. There are also many of her more popular ones, such as "I'm Nobody", where she blasts the notion of having achievements publicized and being popular and "Because I could not stop for Death", where the speaker is taken on a journey through time by Death. Over all this is a powerful collection that no literature teacher should be without. Great for anyone though, and, if you aren't a poetry fan, try this one out and maybe you'll be one.
Definitely recommended!
Book Review: Supremely Soulful
Summary: 5 Stars
Pretty much an autodidact at poetry (thus having utterly no pretense to credentials with which to browbeat those with different views) I've come to regard Emily as one of the very best poets of all time and, among other things, one of the very best of Christian theologians. Notwithstanding what various far better credentialed experts have pronounced to the contrary, Emily was indeed a Christian, though quite solitary, mystical, and hardly conventional. Take for example (J) 823:
Not that We did, shall be the test
When Act and Will are done
But what Our Lord infers We would
Had We diviner been --
Is this not an exquisite (and ultra-polysemic) four line sermon on discipleship, grace, incarnation, and judgment/salvation?
Very few have written of the soul as profoundly, beautifully,and economically as Emily. Plato would have marvelled at this girl.
Whoever first referred to her as a "nun" described her much better than many moderns who seem preoccupied with her secret loves and lovers, sexual preferences, etc. See No. 817 for example.
To decode Emily, I bought the Noah Webster 1823 American English Dictionary. It along with the Bible, the poetry of George Herbert, and the classical writers and philosophers are, for me, essential to filling in the various matrices of meaning that are her poems. Even then, many poems remain obscure and one must fortuitously discover tidbits from history, (then) current events, etc. to occasionally render them comprehensible. Understanding Emily could take a lifetime of work and pleasure.
This edition is great because it is essentially faithful to how Emily actually recorded her poems. With her, as everyone knows, the seemingly eccentric punctuation, capital letters, and other quirks are significant.
Book Review: Fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Emily Dickinson is easily my favorite poet. It was unfortunate that she was essentially undiscovered during her lifetime. This may remind us of one of her poems:----- 441
This is my letter to the World
That never wrote to Me --
The simple News that Nature told --
With tender Majesty
Her Message is committed
To Hands I cannot see --
For love of Her -- Sweet -- countrymen --
Judge tenderly -- of Me
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However, I think this poem is a more likely biography and more personal poem:
----- 404
How many Flowers fail in Wood --
Or perish from the Hill --
Without the privilege to know
That they are Beautiful --
How many cast a nameless Pod
Upon the nearest Breeze --
Unconscious of the Scarlet Freight --
It bear to Other Eyes --
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There are 1775 poems in all, but the following poem is my favorite. It is also on display in her house in Amherst (MA) in various renditions. Make sure to visit there if you are ever in the area.
----- 67
Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.
Not one of all the purple Host
Who took the Flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear of Victory
As he defeated -- dying --
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!
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There are so many fantastic poems that I wish I could list them all. I did type them all (!) in once for my personal use and that has been of great benefit. However, I still keep this book that is marked with my own notes. A real treasure.