“Are you—a Nobody—Too?” No Worries!

First, Emily would flee from the internet, not just Substack. Can you imagine Emily asking for more subscribers? Me either. So, dear friends, take heart. Spend your time creating, not fretting.

As you know, Emily Dickinson wrote over 1,700 poems which were found in small packets tied with string stored away and discovered by her sister Lavinia after she died. The story of their editing and publication is for another time.

Emily wrote about what she knew best. Her love of nature, her losses of loved ones, faith contradictions, and eternity. Her wit and her attention to detail along with her unique style of phrasing, punctuation, and capitalization were truly original. Her literary legacy is alive.

Once English students read a little of Emily, they relate to her isolation, her intense observations, and her unorthodox style. At least my students did, and a few began writing short “Emily-punctuated” poems.

If a writer has the power to speak to students years after the words were written, that’s real fame. Emily Dickinson’s place in American history is a testament to a driven creative soul writing to an audience she never met.

🐸

Emily Dickinson 1830-1886 (#260)

I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June – To an admiring Bog!