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Envelope Poems
Another gorgeous copublication with the Christine Burgin Gallery, Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems is a compact clothbound gift book, a full-color selection from The Gorgeous Nothings. Although a very prolific poet―and arguably America’s greatest―Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) published fewer than a dozen of her eighteen hundred poems. Instead, she created at home small handmade books. When, in her later years, she stopped producing these, she was still writing a great deal, and at her death she left behind many poems, drafts, and letters. It is among the makeshift and fragile manuscripts of Dickinson’s later writings that we find the envelope poems gathered here. These manuscripts on envelopes (recycled by the poet with marked New England thrift) were written with the full powers of her late, most radical period. Intensely alive, these envelope poems are charged with a special poignancy―addressed to no one and everyone at once.
Full-color facsimiles are accompanied by Marta L. Werner and Jen Bervin’s pioneering transcriptions of Dickinson’s handwriting. Their transcriptions allow us to read the texts, while the facsimiles let us see exactly what Dickinson wrote (the variant words, crossings-out, dashes, directional fields, spaces, columns, and overlapping planes).
Full-color facsimiles are accompanied by Marta L. Werner and Jen Bervin’s pioneering transcriptions of Dickinson’s handwriting. Their transcriptions allow us to read the texts, while the facsimiles let us see exactly what Dickinson wrote (the variant words, crossings-out, dashes, directional fields, spaces, columns, and overlapping planes).
96 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2016
About the author
Emily Dickinson
1,322 books7,040 followersEmily Dickinson was an American poet who, despite the fact that less than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime, is widely considered one of the most original and influential poets of the 19th century.
Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.
Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.
A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/emily-di...
Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.
Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.
A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/emily-di...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 712 reviews
November 19, 2019
In the 70s when I first learned of Emily Dickinson in my high school American Lit class, a picture of her emerged that is now being superseded, thanks to archivists, researchers and biographers. For too many years I’ve had an image of Emily as a perennial girl, never a woman, with genius of course but not emotions she showed in real life, only displaying them on the page; an image where she submissively sits behind her cross-barred bedroom window when she is not writing, imprisoned almost, perhaps by her father, occasionally looking out and ignoring the gawkers on the lawn below. That is not the Emily Dickinson I know now. And of course those poems we read in high school had been edited, for example, to change her capitalization and punctuation, removing those lovely dashes: Reading her unedited poems was the first revelation.
On a recent visit to Amherst to visit her home/museum (a place I could’ve stayed in all day), I bought this little volume in the gift shop, as I’d never heard of the so-called ‘envelope poems’, another revelation, of a new form she used near the end of her life. This small selection is taken from the complete volume of her ‘envelope poems,’ The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems -- “gorgeous nothings” is a phrase from one of the poems, included in this book too.
The book is an art object, with transcriptions of her handwriting facing facsimiles of the scraps of envelopes she wrote upon, some of which you can see through to the other side. But, of course, it is her words that are foremost, the shortest of these (of less characters than one can use on a Twitter post) being my favorites, though a slightly longer one (none are long) near the end was intriguing, as it was written on three small sections of a flattened-out envelope and can be read at least two different ways depending on how it is turned. I may just have to get the complete collection now.
A few photos from my day in Amherst: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm3VyiGN
On a recent visit to Amherst to visit her home/museum (a place I could’ve stayed in all day), I bought this little volume in the gift shop, as I’d never heard of the so-called ‘envelope poems’, another revelation, of a new form she used near the end of her life. This small selection is taken from the complete volume of her ‘envelope poems,’ The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems -- “gorgeous nothings” is a phrase from one of the poems, included in this book too.
The book is an art object, with transcriptions of her handwriting facing facsimiles of the scraps of envelopes she wrote upon, some of which you can see through to the other side. But, of course, it is her words that are foremost, the shortest of these (of less characters than one can use on a Twitter post) being my favorites, though a slightly longer one (none are long) near the end was intriguing, as it was written on three small sections of a flattened-out envelope and can be read at least two different ways depending on how it is turned. I may just have to get the complete collection now.
A few photos from my day in Amherst: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm3VyiGN
December 26, 2022
legit the blueprint for sapphic poets
November 27, 2024
Almost like haiku or the poetry of e.e. cummings; a glimpse of raw genius. I am always fascinated when there is material that reveals nuanced traits of an iconic figure; 'peeling' back some of the accumulated layers of conventionality, allowing a clearer view of the creative process. Sure to appeal to fans of Emily Dickinson.
July 27, 2022
As there are
Apartments in our
own Minds that -
we never enter without Apology -
we should respect
the seals of
others -
I'm glad the editors of this volume didn't heed this particularly aphoristic poem. Dickinson in fragmentary form is cryptic, capturing a quality that many future poets would strive for (e.g., Anne Carson). Also interesting is the incredible glimpse into a master poet's creative process—alternative words, phrases crossed out, poems re-written on facing pages. The facsimiles are clear and the transcriptions true.
Apartments in our
own Minds that -
we never enter without Apology -
we should respect
the seals of
others -
I'm glad the editors of this volume didn't heed this particularly aphoristic poem. Dickinson in fragmentary form is cryptic, capturing a quality that many future poets would strive for (e.g., Anne Carson). Also interesting is the incredible glimpse into a master poet's creative process—alternative words, phrases crossed out, poems re-written on facing pages. The facsimiles are clear and the transcriptions true.
March 29, 2021
Emily Dickinson cresceu num ambiente puritano e passou quase toda a vida confinada a um quarto onde redigiu cerca de 1750 poemas.
Este é o meu primeiro livro da autora, uma lindíssima edição da SAGUÃO 11, design e composição original adaptada por Rui Miguel Ribeiro e tradução a cargo de Mariana Pinto dos Santos e Rui Pires Cabral.
É uma edição bilingue que reúne uma amostra selecionada a partir da recolha integral dos «poemas envelope», que alguns exegetas designam como «refugo»
Não sou uma leitora de poesia, ou melhor, sou leitora de poemas escritos em Língua Portuguesa, brasileiros e portugueses, pelo que atrever-me em Emily Dickinson foi navegar por mares nunca de antes navegados.
Uma poesia fragmentada escrita em envelopes já utilizados que acredito seja uma inspiração de momento, um registo do fugaz sem emenda e hesitante entre uma palavra ou outra.
Nesta fugaz Existência
Que dura apenas/somente uma hora
Quanto – quão
Pouco –
Podemos
In this short Life
That only/merely lasts an hour
How much – how
Little – is
Within our power
Contemplação
Pela qual
Cesso de
Viver –
Gaze
For wich
I cease to live
Este é o meu primeiro livro da autora, uma lindíssima edição da SAGUÃO 11, design e composição original adaptada por Rui Miguel Ribeiro e tradução a cargo de Mariana Pinto dos Santos e Rui Pires Cabral.
É uma edição bilingue que reúne uma amostra selecionada a partir da recolha integral dos «poemas envelope», que alguns exegetas designam como «refugo»
Não sou uma leitora de poesia, ou melhor, sou leitora de poemas escritos em Língua Portuguesa, brasileiros e portugueses, pelo que atrever-me em Emily Dickinson foi navegar por mares nunca de antes navegados.
Uma poesia fragmentada escrita em envelopes já utilizados que acredito seja uma inspiração de momento, um registo do fugaz sem emenda e hesitante entre uma palavra ou outra.
Nesta fugaz Existência
Que dura apenas/somente uma hora
Quanto – quão
Pouco –
Podemos
In this short Life
That only/merely lasts an hour
How much – how
Little – is
Within our power
Contemplação
Pela qual
Cesso de
Viver –
Gaze
For wich
I cease to live
January 28, 2026
But are not
all Facts Dreams
as soon as
we put
them behind
us -
all Facts Dreams
as soon as
we put
them behind
us -
February 4, 2017
I literally had no idea what she was talking about... Her hand writing is hard to read and I think that some mistakes were made when translating. Many of these poems were also incomplete and I believe she left them unpublished for a reason.
There were one or two poems I really liked but other than that this was very confusing... perhaps I was reading them wrong, but I read them in the way I saw most logical and they did not make sense at all.
There were one or two poems I really liked but other than that this was very confusing... perhaps I was reading them wrong, but I read them in the way I saw most logical and they did not make sense at all.
December 5, 2016
Any admirer of Emily Dickinson, or any fan of otherworldly great poetry, is missing out on an exquisite experience if avoiding, or failing, to study this collection of fragments alongside her collected poems. What we can witness of her process here firsthand is nothing short of amazing. To see what actual version of each poem she finally settled on to include in her final handmade fascicles is priceless. Emily never ceases to delight and mesmerize me, even to the extent of enacting severe head explosions as desired. The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems is a book to be treasured.
August 4, 2024
“A not admitting
of the Wound
Until it grew so
wide
That all my
Life had Entered it….”
Dickinson’s envelope poems are held by Amherst College, in Amherst MA, with many of her other writings. These poems were written between 1864 and 1886 on used envelopes that were cut open and flattened. The facsimiles of the envelopes in the book showed a few poems with crossed out words and some with alternate word choices written alongside the lines.
In 1885, Dickinson’s friend, Helen Hunt Jackson, had a fall and died soon after. Consoling Hunt’s husband Dickinson wrote,
“Dear friend, can
you walk
were the last
words that
I wrote her-
Dear friend I
can fly- her
immortal
soaring reply”
of the Wound
Until it grew so
wide
That all my
Life had Entered it….”
Dickinson’s envelope poems are held by Amherst College, in Amherst MA, with many of her other writings. These poems were written between 1864 and 1886 on used envelopes that were cut open and flattened. The facsimiles of the envelopes in the book showed a few poems with crossed out words and some with alternate word choices written alongside the lines.
In 1885, Dickinson’s friend, Helen Hunt Jackson, had a fall and died soon after. Consoling Hunt’s husband Dickinson wrote,
“Dear friend, can
you walk
were the last
words that
I wrote her-
Dear friend I
can fly- her
immortal
soaring reply”
September 26, 2016
Pocket-sized selection from the magisterial complete collection The Gorgeous Nothings. Both books are superb and put virtually all new books of poetry to shame.
May 29, 2025
"Misconosciuta la ferita
crebbe così tanto
che ci sprofondò tutta la mia vita."
4.5 ⭐️
crebbe così tanto
che ci sprofondò tutta la mia vita."
4.5 ⭐️
January 31, 2022
A little book that is a little boring but so so beautiful and a very quick read. I have never seen a printing like this, with one page being an image of Dickinson’s handwritten scraps of paper and immediately next to it a minimal and more legible rendering of the poem in the same layout as the original envelope. As someone who has been struggling with productivity recently I will say: Realizing how prolific Dickinson was in her life makes me wonder if she would have written 12,000 poems on little scraps of paper if she’s had been alive at the same time as HBO Max.
March 4, 2017
A lovely little book.
Read
October 16, 2021hands down my favourite poet. an icon.
December 21, 2021
what the heck!!!!!!!!!!!! "Look back / on Time / with kindly / Eyes -"
whatever you say, Ms. Dickinson!!!!!!!!!!
whatever you say, Ms. Dickinson!!!!!!!!!!
November 5, 2022
But are notYesterday, I visited my favorite bookstore after a very long time. I came across this beautiful little edition of Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems, which I couldn't leave behind. The book is a work of art in itself, with gorgeous facsimiles of Dickinson's writings scrambled on bits of envelope (hence the title). While the title promises Poems, this somewhat oversells the material: many of the writings are probably better characterized as notes, musings, thoughts, aphorisms, and so on. In fact, these writings are also known within Dickinson scholarship as 'scraps'. The truth seems to lie somewhere in between. Few, if any, of the writings are poems in a formal, fully-formed sense. Which is fine—there is enough, in the end, to justify the material's interest, even if I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't more actual writing (a number of pages simply contain pictures of bits of envelope addressed to or by Dickinson). The good bits are really good, though.
all Facts Dreams
as soon as
we put
them behind
us - (92)
"One note from
One bird
Is better than
A million words." (48)
September 30, 2021
I absolutely loved this. I see reviews that knocked a star off because some poems felt “unfinished” or “confusing” and whilst I agree I also felt as if that’s why I, personally, loved it. As a historian it’s always wonderful to see anything and everything from simple things to simple thoughts, however careless they may seem to us, or unimportant and forgettable to the contemporary maker. I almost felt a bit voyeuristic reading these poems, like I walked into a room and found these scraps on someone’s desk.
There are some really standout poems to me in this but the sentence that hit me hardest was “I have no life but this to lead”, as if Emily from centuries away knows what I’m going through, what I’m thinking…. Maybe humans do have universal truths after all….
Loved this publication, the juxtaposition of the original letters and how they looked was marvellous and interesting especially as a historian and (aspiring) palaeographer, though I imagine even non-historians find it fascinating.
Lovely read, will read again
There are some really standout poems to me in this but the sentence that hit me hardest was “I have no life but this to lead”, as if Emily from centuries away knows what I’m going through, what I’m thinking…. Maybe humans do have universal truths after all….
Loved this publication, the juxtaposition of the original letters and how they looked was marvellous and interesting especially as a historian and (aspiring) palaeographer, though I imagine even non-historians find it fascinating.
Lovely read, will read again
June 13, 2021
"O mais belo Lar que
conheci
foi construído numa Hora
Por certos Conhecidos meus
Uma aranha e uma Flor -
Um presbitério de renda e
de Seda - Brilho -Sol"
***********************
"Assim como há
Quartos na nossa
Mente onde -
nunca entramos
sem pedir Desculpa -
Devemos também respeitar
o recato dos
outros -"
conheci
foi construído numa Hora
Por certos Conhecidos meus
Uma aranha e uma Flor -
Um presbitério de renda e
de Seda - Brilho -Sol"
***********************
"Assim como há
Quartos na nossa
Mente onde -
nunca entramos
sem pedir Desculpa -
Devemos também respeitar
o recato dos
outros -"
Want to Read
October 24, 2013Happy early birthday present to me! i.e. MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE
Read
January 24, 2022“As there are apartment in our own minds that we never enter without apology — we should respect the seals of others.”
lovely.
lovely.
April 13, 2014
This is a beautiful large coffee table kinda book with actual copies of envelopes Dickinson wrote on so you feel you are looking in on her process, which makes them very intimate and sort of not Great Solo Authorish, she's just a person writing on a daily basis on whatever she has at hand…. and some of it is not as polished of course as what we get in The Collected Poems, but the stuff is here, the voice, and it is great to read her in this way. Useful for poetry classes, reading and writing, and teaching of writing classes, generally, to get at one writer's process...
December 3, 2021
There is always something incredible to say about Emily Dickson’s poetry. In this novel, the manuscripts collected - or rather her notes - are a look into a different Emily.
It’s exciting to see what she jotted down on miscellaneous envelopes. Very different from her original style. Which I really liked. Still very much her signature but somewhat more mature and almost more sure of herself. You get an insight to her wanderings. Loved this book so much!
It’s exciting to see what she jotted down on miscellaneous envelopes. Very different from her original style. Which I really liked. Still very much her signature but somewhat more mature and almost more sure of herself. You get an insight to her wanderings. Loved this book so much!
December 15, 2016
A gorgeous little book of small poetry on small things. Highly recommended.
June 28, 2020
I think I might be not smart enough for EmDick because half the time I’m like hmm what
September 7, 2025
Absolutely remarkable. I remember checking out the full facsimile from the University of St Andrews library during the pandemic, which was such a source of solace.
I found a copy on sale at Gibert Joseph in Paris, which was meant to be! Dickinson's envelope poems are informing the writing I am creating during my residency in France, dialoguing with a château's extensive archives (including much handwritten correspondence).
Such a delight to read these words and ponder their unique medium—the envelope. Somewhat transparent, in transit, covered with cursive names of loved ones, multi-directional, ephemeral.
I found a copy on sale at Gibert Joseph in Paris, which was meant to be! Dickinson's envelope poems are informing the writing I am creating during my residency in France, dialoguing with a château's extensive archives (including much handwritten correspondence).
Such a delight to read these words and ponder their unique medium—the envelope. Somewhat transparent, in transit, covered with cursive names of loved ones, multi-directional, ephemeral.
July 4, 2016
In my New York Journal of Books review I describe The Gorgeous Nothings as “. . . one gorgeous book . . . like attending a museum exhibition in the comfort of one’s own home.” For a comparison between Ms. Dickinson's draft of a poem and the posthumously published version see an article that appeared in a different and now defunct publication, which begins with the next paragraph.
Books: The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems
In The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems, published today by New Directions, we learn that the poem her posthumous editor published as
“I have no Life but this —
To lead it here —
Nor any Death — but lest
Dispelled from there —
“Nor tie to Earths to come —
Nor Action new —
Except through this extent —
The Realm of you —“
is based on the following first draft Ms. Dickinson wrote in pencil on the back of an envelope:
“I have no
life [to] [but] [live] [this]
[But] [To] lead
it here
Nor any
Death but
lest dispelled
+Abased from
there —
“Nor +Plea
for World s
to come
+Nor Wisdoms
new
Except through
this +Extent
“The loving
you —
Withheld —
+
deprived
from
there —
+ Nor tie to
+Expanse —“
The original had wider spaces between the words than examiner's publishing tool allows. The plus signs (+) indicate alternate words and phrases Ms. Dickinson considered as she revised her poems.
From the published versions of her poems readers would hardly guess how open her original drafts were. The published versions seem formal and of their time, while the drafts seem experimental and ahead of her time. Ms. Dickinson did not want her work published during her lifetime for fear of just such editing by other hands.
In my New York Journal of Books review I describe The Gorgeous Nothings as “. . . one gorgeous book . . . like attending a museum exhibition in the comfort of one’s own home.” It’s a book every Emily Dickinson fan and armchair literary sleuth will want to own.
Books: The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems
In The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems, published today by New Directions, we learn that the poem her posthumous editor published as
“I have no Life but this —
To lead it here —
Nor any Death — but lest
Dispelled from there —
“Nor tie to Earths to come —
Nor Action new —
Except through this extent —
The Realm of you —“
is based on the following first draft Ms. Dickinson wrote in pencil on the back of an envelope:
“I have no
life [to] [but] [live] [this]
[But] [To] lead
it here
Nor any
Death but
lest dispelled
+Abased from
there —
“Nor +Plea
for World s
to come
+Nor Wisdoms
new
Except through
this +Extent
“The loving
you —
Withheld —
+
deprived
from
there —
+ Nor tie to
+Expanse —“
The original had wider spaces between the words than examiner's publishing tool allows. The plus signs (+) indicate alternate words and phrases Ms. Dickinson considered as she revised her poems.
From the published versions of her poems readers would hardly guess how open her original drafts were. The published versions seem formal and of their time, while the drafts seem experimental and ahead of her time. Ms. Dickinson did not want her work published during her lifetime for fear of just such editing by other hands.
In my New York Journal of Books review I describe The Gorgeous Nothings as “. . . one gorgeous book . . . like attending a museum exhibition in the comfort of one’s own home.” It’s a book every Emily Dickinson fan and armchair literary sleuth will want to own.
March 10, 2021
This little book contains fragments of poems and prose written by Emily Dickinson on pieces of envelopes and scraps of old-paper. The poems and the book itself are short. It does feel almost invasive, reading the passing thoughts and ideas of Emily Dickinson she never likely envisioned being published in a book for me to read.
This is definitely a book I will pick up from my shelf and flick through on a bored rainy Sunday.
It would make an excellent gift for someone who is into, or wants to get into poetry. The presentation of the book is beautifully simple and will make a fine addition to my collection.
This is definitely a book I will pick up from my shelf and flick through on a bored rainy Sunday.
It would make an excellent gift for someone who is into, or wants to get into poetry. The presentation of the book is beautifully simple and will make a fine addition to my collection.
August 3, 2025
"In this short Life that only lasts an hour / How much - how little - is within our power"
"Look back on Time with kindly Eyes - He doubtless did his best - How softly sinks that trembling Sun In Human Nature's West"
tender, delicate and intimate. oh my dearest emily, how I adore you.
"Look back on Time with kindly Eyes - He doubtless did his best - How softly sinks that trembling Sun In Human Nature's West"
tender, delicate and intimate. oh my dearest emily, how I adore you.
February 19, 2021
Reading The Gorgeous Nothings gave me the experience of handling manuscripts in the archives. Since I doubt I'll ever hold a Dickinson manuscript in my own hands, it was lovely to glimpse her more whimsical moments in this collection of her envelope poems. Detailed reproductions of the envelopes are accompanied by a line drawing and sans serif version of the words.
"Not to send errands by John Alden is one of the instructions of History--"
"One note from
One Bird
Is better than
a million words..."
"Not to send errands by John Alden is one of the instructions of History--"
"One note from
One Bird
Is better than
a million words..."
January 1, 2021
but are not all facts dreams as soon as we put them behind us
Displaying 1 - 30 of 712 reviews