An Emily Dickinson Encyclopedia

(Hardback)

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Description

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a mystery in her own lifetime, and her poems continue to challenge their readers. For many, she remains a mythic recluse always dressed in white. Although factual knowledge has corrected that image, it was firmly established in Amherst long before the poet's death. Her works were largely neglected during her lifetime as most of her poems were published posthumously. Since poems by Emily Dickinson appeared in 1890, readers have been raising questions about the poet, her world and the works that have established her as a famous literary figure. An innovative writer who blurred the distinctions between poetry and prose, Dickinson is attracting a growing amount of scholarly attention. Critics have found her works elusive to interpret, and therefore, focus much research on her artistry and the practices of her editors. Now that Emily Dickinson's poetry has taken its place at the heart of the American literary canon, readers continue to examine the poet herself, the environment that sustained and challenged her, her artistic choices and the implications of her poems. This encyclopaedia features several hundred entries on persons, places and institutions connected with Dickinson; reception of her poems; critical approaches to her art; and modern responses to her in other art forms as well as thoughtful commentaries on a representative selection of her poems. Recommendations for further reading follow each entry, and the book includes a general bibliography of cited Dickinson scholarship. The volume also features a chronology, appendices and a guide to centres for archival research.

Reviews

"Lively and informative, well organized and full of pleasant surprises, the Emily Dickinson Encyclopedia stands out for its range and depth of coverage."-Vivian R. Pollak Professor of English Washington University, St. Louis
"This book should find a place in all college and university libraries. Since there are many, many Dickinson "fans"--admirers of America's greatest woman writer--scattered over the country, public libraries as well will want to include this book in their holdings. I myself am delighted to have my copy of it; I know I'll use it often."-Everett Emerson Alumni Distinguished Professor, Emeritus University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Eberwein provides a unique resource, the first encyclopedia on Dickinson....The signed entries are easy to read and are rich with cross-references and citations as well as quotes from primary and secondary resources. The work includes a general bibliography, a chronology, an index of cited poems, a general index, and appendix of poems in Dickinson's copy books, and an annotated list of the major archival collections, including the Electronic Archives Project.-Choice
Eberwein's book will be an attractive and useful addition to the libraries of Dickinson aficionados as well as to the collections of American literature expert.-ARBA
This reference work is easy to use, rich in text and search mechanisms, and useful for students, both formal and informal. It is a highly readable, interesting volume that can be savored, as well as a useful guide and reference tool. It should find a place in academic and larger public libraries. Given the frequency with which Dickinson appears in the curriculum, it might also be considered by high school libraries.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"Eberwein's book will be an attractive and useful addition to the libraries of Dickinson aficionados as well as to the collections of American literature expert."-ARBA
"This reference work is easy to use, rich in text and search mechanisms, and useful for students, both formal and informal. It is a highly readable, interesting volume that can be savored, as well as a useful guide and reference tool. It should find a place in academic and larger public libraries. Given the frequency with which Dickinson appears in the curriculum, it might also be considered by high school libraries."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"Eberwein provides a unique resource, the first encyclopedia on Dickinson....The signed entries are easy to read and are rich with cross-references and citations as well as quotes from primary and secondary resources. The work includes a general bibliography, a chronology, an index of cited poems, a general index, and appendix of poems in Dickinson's copy books, and an annotated list of the major archival collections, including the Electronic Archives Project."-Choice

Author Bio

JANE DONAHUE EBERWEIN is Professor of English and Coordinator of American Studies at Oakland University. Editor of Early American Poetry (1978) and author of Dickinson: Strategies of Limitation (1985), she has published widely on authors associated with an imaginative tradition grounded in New England Puritanism and is best known for studies of Anne Bradstreet and Emily Dickinson. She was a founding board member of the Emily Dickinson International Society and recently completed a term on the Executive Committee of the MLA Division on American Literature to 1800.