Emily Dickinson's Gardening Journey: Exploring the Plants and Places That Inspired Her Poetry

HannaHanna:

Sweden on Jul 17, 2023

Amazon Customer: Loved finding out about her family & friends & the plants she cherished.

United States on Jul 03, 2023

Spenta Mainyu: "So intimate and passionate was her love of Nature, she seemed herself a part of the high March sky, the summer day and bird call."
-- Sue's Obituary for Emily

Recently, there has been a flood of films and TV shows depicting Emily Dickinson's life, but all of them are based on poor scholarship and disingenuously twist her to become a politicized symbol of feminism and petty rebellion.

However, Marta McDowell has recently published a beautiful, scholarly book called Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life. It mainly focuses on "the plants and places" that inspired Emily, but it also delves into her rich inner world and complex relationship with family and friends. It is well-written and sprinkled with the poems of Emily with their characteristic dashes. It meticulously details Emily's day-to-day living with Vinnie (sisiter), Austin (brother), Susan (sister-in-law), Edward (father), Emily Norcross (carlo), and Carlo (noble big dog) on their bucolic homestead in Amherst. Many photos and sketches are likewise given, which truly conveys a sense of the layout of Amherst at that time (note, due to a hurricane in the mid 20th century, it looks very different now). Interestingly,...

United States on Oct 26, 2022

Amazon Customer: A simply beautiful book which I shall cherish. Very well researched and presented, it entwines Dickinson’s love of gardening and botony with her nature poetry. A lovely devotion to her life, it is a delicate infusion of biography, poems and useful information on both wild /garden flowers. It includes many interesting photographs and references to Dickinsons’s life which I didn’t know before. One of the nicest books I’ve bought in years and a true homage to my favourite poet.

United Kingdom on Sep 18, 2022

Amazon Customer: Whether you like gardening or Emily Dickinson, this is a wonderful book. I love both and i am so happy I came across this book!

United States on Oct 11, 2021

Lovely Reader: My daughter and I loved this book! I added this book to our homeschool horticulture unit and was pleasantly surprised at the depth it brought into the course. Learned about Dickinson's love of plants, the emotional elements they brought to her life. Learned history of Emily, as well as, her family. This book did not disappoint!!

United States on May 10, 2021

bl: I am an Emily fan and have read many books about her. This one centers on her love of all things in the garden.
The author is so knowledgeable and includes interesting life moments, pieces of poems and quotes, and pictures and drawings to accompany the garden information. Her writing is lyrical and lovely. I am truly enjoying this book. I bought it for a gift but may have to order another one for myself! Truly a treat for Emily fans!

United States on Nov 01, 2019