Emily Dickinson's Poetic Practices in 19th Century Contexts

FAIN: FT-53499-05

Melanie Anne Hubbard
University of Tampa (Tampa, FL 33606-1450)

My project presents an array of nineteenth century discourses as motives for Dickinson’s choice to retain variants in her manuscripts and for her late practice of composing poems on print and manuscript ephemera. These historical contexts help me make the case that Dickinson’s artistic choices are in keeping with the cultural practices of her day. I seek to offer a deep reading of the entire oeuvre based on the poet’s material practices; and crucially, I seek to establish a new historical basis for judging the formal aspects of Dickinson’s work.