The Selected Letters of Emily Dickinson

An essential new selection of Emily Dickinson’s correspondence, offering an unparalleled window into the world of a strikingly original American poet.

Emily Dickinson was a letter writer before she was a poet. While her letters often contain poems, and some consist entirely of a single poem, they also constitute a rich genre all their own. Over the course of her lifetime, she sent more than 1,300 letters—alternately humorous, provocative, affectionate, and philosophical—to members of her extensive community. Through this correspondence, Dickinson appears in her many facets as a reader, writer, and thinker; social commentator and comedian; friend, neighbor, sister, and daughter.

Drawn from Cristanne Miller and Domhnall Mitchell’s highly acclaimed Letters of Emily Dickinson, this edition features a thoughtfully curated selection of the poet’s correspondence. The letters presented here range from youthful missives to mature meditations, including dozens of “letter-poems” that Dickinson sent to friends and family without accompanying prose. Meticulous annotations and new headnotes situate her writing firmly in relation to national and international events, as well as the rhythms of daily life in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts. What emerges is not the reclusive Dickinson of legend but a poet deeply embedded in the political and literary currents of her time.

Presenting Dickinson’s correspondence in all its complexity and brilliance, The Selected Letters of Emily Dickinson sheds light on the capacious mind of a great American poet and her vast network of relationships.