I was excited this week to learn we were going to be reading some of Emily Dickinson's work. I guess I've always been a little biased in liking her - I guess because we both have the same first name. It was interesting to learn about her, her life, and her work; and that "she published only ten poems during her lifetime, and even those appeared anonymously. She begged those closest to her to burn her papers after her death. They refused, instead startling audiences by publishing Emily Dickinson's unusual lyrics..." This shocked me, considering she's so well known. But from learning more about her, and from this passage, you can also see why she didn't publish much of her work. I wonder why she didn't want much published? And why, with the ten poems she did publish, did she remain anonymous?
Dickinson's style of writing is different than some of the other poets I've read. She doesn't necessarily make her writing rhyme, but at the same time, there is a flow and rhythm to her poems. The use of dashes is also different - at first I wasn't sure I liked it because it made me read it differently. But then I got used to it and actually like how it breaks things up and makes me slow down and enjoy reading it more. Dickinson also capitalizes random words; I'm not sure if this means she wants more emphasis on that word or on that line, or if it doesn't really matter at all.
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