Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
These Fevered Days: Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson
These Fevered Days: Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson | Martha Ackmann
3 posts | 5 read | 3 to read
An engaging, intimate portrait of Emily Dickinson, one of Americas greatest and most-mythologized poets, that sheds new light on her groundbreaking poetry. On August 3, 1845, young Emily Dickinson declared, All things are ready and with this resolute statement, her life as a poet began. Despite spending her days almost entirely at home (the occupation listed on her death certificate), Dickinsons interior world was extraordinary. She loved passionately, was hesitant about publication, embraced seclusion, and created 1,789 poems that she tucked into a dresser drawer. In These Fevered Days, Martha Ackmann unravels the mysteries of Dickinsons life through ten decisive episodes that distill her evolution as a poet. Ackmann follows Dickinson through her religious crisis while a student at Mount Holyoke, which prefigured her lifelong ambivalence toward organized religion and her deep, private spirituality. We see the poet through her exhilarating frenzy of composition, through which we come to understand her fiercely self-critical eye and her relationship with sister-in-law and first reader, Susan Dickinson. Contrary to her reputation as a recluse, Dickinson makes the startling decision to ask a famous editor for advice, writes anguished letters to an unidentified Master, and keeps up a lifelong friendship with writer Helen Hunt Jackson. At the peak of her literary productivity, she is seized with despair in confronting possible blindness. Utilizing thousands of archival letters and poems as well as never-before-seen photos, These Fevered Days constructs a remarkable map of Emily Dickinsons inner life. Together, these ten days provide new insights into her wildly original poetry and render a concise and vivid portrait of American literatures most enigmatic figure.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
danimgill
post image
Mehso-so

For a biography overloaded with detail despite the framing of it as "ten pivotal moments" in Emily Dickinson's life, it's wild that at literally no point does the author mention that there are many Dickinson scholars who have written about her queerness. It's fine to disagree but to not even scratch the surface of a subfield of study about her seems like a glaring omission. Otherwise this was a perfectly fine book if a little bloated.

Mitch Oh such a shame - a very promising title ! 3y
36 likes1 comment
blurb
LeahBergen
post image

I can never resist a new book about Emily Dickinson (my favourite poet...I think?) and this one is starting out very well.

Fun fact: Much of it was written in Emily Dickinson‘s old bedroom in Amherst. 😮

BiblioLitten I‘d love to read that! Such a pretty cover too.💕 4y
kspenmoll Tempting.... 4y
Centique I‘m already smitten... 4y
See All 6 Comments
veritysalter I love that not only do your book choices sound so interesting, they always have the most beautiful covers ♥️ 4y
LeahBergen @BiblioLitten @kspenmoll @Centique I‘m really enjoying it! 👍🏻 4y
LeahBergen @veritysalter I DO judge a book by its (pretty) cover. 😆😆 4y
80 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
KimHM
post image
Mehso-so

This is an extremely disappointing and shallow treatment of ED‘s life. No new depths, no new perspective, nothing that couldn‘t be gained for oneself through reading the letters and poems. The photos are good but because #poetrymatters, Dickinson deserves far better than this. Read Lives Like Loaded Guns instead.