Smith, Martha Nell 1953-

Open me carefully : Emily Dickinson's intimate letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson by Emily Dickinson ( Book )
5 editions published in 1998 in English and held by 1,046 libraries worldwide

Comic power in Emily Dickinson by Suzanne Juhasz ( Book )
5 editions published in 1993 in English and held by 768 libraries worldwide

Rowing in Eden : rereading Emily Dickinson by Martha Nell Smith ( Book )
7 editions published in 1992 in English and Undetermined and held by 715 libraries worldwide
Emily Dickinson wrote a "letter to the world" and left it lying in her drawer more than a century ago. This widely admired epistle was her poems, which were never conventionally published in book form during her lifetime. Since the posthumous discovery of her work, general readers and literary scholars alike have puzzled over this paradox of wanting to communicate widely and yet apparently refusing to publish. In this pathbreaking study, Martha Nell Smith unravels the paradox by boldly recasting two of the oldest and still most frequently asked questions about Emily Dickinson: Why didn't she publish more poems while she was alive? and Who was her most important contemporary audience? Regarding the question of publication, Smith urges a reconception of the act of publication itself. She argues that Dickinson did publish her work in letters and in forty manuscript books that circulated among a cultured network of correspondents, most important of whom was her sister-in-law, Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson. Rather than considering this material unpublished because unprinted, Smith views its alternative publication as a conscious strategy on the poet's part, a daring poetic experiment that also included Dickinson's unusual punctuation, line breaks, stanza divisions, calligraphic orthography, and bookmaking - all the characteristics that later editors tried to standardize or eliminate in preparing the poems for printing. Dickinson's relationship with her most important reader, Sue Dickinson, has also been lost or distorted by multiple levels of censorship, Smith finds. Emphasizing the poet-sustaining aspects of the passionate bonds between the two women, Smith shows that their relationship was both textual and sexual. Based on study of the actual holograph poems, Smith reveals the extent of Sue Dickinson's collaboration in the production of poems, most notably "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers." This finding will surely challenge the popular conception of the isolated, withdrawn Emily Dickinson. Well-versed in poststructuralist, feminist, and new textual criticism, Rowing in Eden uncovers the process by which the conventional portrait of Emily Dickinson was drawn and offers readers a chance to go back to original letters and poems and look at the poet and her work through new eyes. It will be of great interest to a wide audience in literary and feminist studies.

A companion to Emily Dickinson ( Book )
14 editions published between 2006 and 2008 in English and held by 278 libraries worldwide
This Companion to America's greatest woman poet showcases the diversity and excellence that characterize the thriving field of Dickinson studies.:.; Covers biographical approaches of Dickinson, the historical, political and cultural contexts of her work, and its critical reception over the years.; Considers issues relating to the different formats in which Dickinson's lyrics have been published - manuscript, print, halftone and digital facsimile.; Provides incisive interventions into current critical discussions, as well as opening up fresh areas of critical inquiry.; Features new work being d.

Dickinson electronic archives ( )
6 editions published in 2003 in English and held by 62 libraries worldwide
A website devoted to the study of Emily Dickinson, her writing practices, writings directly influencing her work, and critical and creative writings generated by her work. Includes links to sites related to Dickinson.

Emily Dickinson's correspondences a born-digital textual inquiry by Emily Dickinson ( )
in English and held by 29 libraries worldwide
"Unpublished in book form during her lifetime, the poems of Emily Dickinson were nonetheless shared with those she trusted most--through her letters. This XML-based archive brings together seventy-four poems and letters from Emily's correspondence with her sister-in-law and primary confidante, Susan Dickinson. Each text is presented with a digitized scan of the holograph manuscript. These images have zoom functionality as well as a special light-box feature that allows users to view and compare constellations of related documents. Users may search by date, genre, manuscript features, and full text. Dating from the 1850s to the end of Dickinson's life, the work collected here shows all the characteristics of the poet's mature art."

Emily Dickinson : a user's guide by Martha Nell Smith ( Book )
5 editions published between 2006 and 2009 in English and Undetermined and held by 16 libraries worldwide

Rowing in Eden" : gender and the poetics of Emily Dickinson by Martha Nell Smith ( Book )
4 editions published between 1985 and 1986 in English and Undetermined and held by 5 libraries worldwide

Comic power in Emily Dickinson ( Book )
1 edition published in 1993 in Undetermined and held by 4 libraries worldwide

The poet as cartoonist : pictures sewed to words by Martha Nell Smith ( Book )
1 edition published in 1996 in Undetermined and held by 1 library worldwide