The Influence of One of America's Greatest Writers
             "Although only a few of her poems were published during her lifetime,
             Dickinson is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential American
             writers of verse." To many people, Emily Dickinson was more than a
             poet. She was a very dedicated writer who helped to inspire many future poets.
             Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830.
             Her family had lived in England for over eight generations and held severely
             religious beliefs. Being rooted in the puritanical Massachusetts of the
             1800s, Emily Dickinson was raised in the Christian tradition, and was expected to
             take up her fathers religious beliefs and values without argument.
             Later in life, Emily would come to challenge these religious viewpoints of her
             father and the church. The challenges she met with would later contribute to the
             Ever since Emily Dickinson had learned to write, she was fascinated by it.
             From then on, Dickinson was set on becoming a poet. To a
             certain degree, Dickinson was aware of her talent in writing poetry. Yet there
             were reasons that withheld her from publishing her work. One reason was the
             fact that she felt, in doing so, the public would criticize her.
             Emily Dickinson also felt that poetry was something very personal and her lyrics
             speak of themes such as life, death, and immortality.
             As a child, Dickinson had never been an outgoing child and enjoyed being
             alone rather than being surrounded by other children. She was
             educated at Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in
             Massachusetts. After Dickinson had finished school, she
             began to withdraw from society and only contacted family and friends through
             letters. In Emily' s entire life, she took one trip to Philadelphia,
             one to Washington, and a few trips to Boston. Other than those occasional
             ventures, Emily had no other exposure to the world outside ...