Emily Dickinson biography

Emily Dickinson, born on December 10th, 1830, was the second child of Emily Norcross and Edward Dickinson. From a young age, she studied literature, math, botany, history, and Latin. She attended Amherst Academy from 1840 to 1847, and then attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for less than a year. At home, she began spending more time alone writing poems and reading, but she still kept in touch with her friends. In 1856, her brother, William Austin, married her best friend, Susan Gilbert. Dickinson also had a sister, named Lavinia “Vinnie” Norcross Dickinson, who helped her take care of their mother later in life. Emily Dickinson submitted some of her poetry to the Atlantic Monthly, but she did not want to change any of them when they were corrected by the editor. After a visit to the eye doctor, she was no longer allowed to read or write. Dickinson spent the later years of her life, gardening at home and baking. She had suffered from Bright’s Disease, which may have been a cause of her isolation. Dickinson passed away on May 15th, 1886, and was buried in the West Cemetery of Amherst in Massachusetts. Some of her poetry was published during her lifetime, but most of it was discovered after her death by her sister. They were edited and placed into collections.