Valentine Week

Happy Valentine’s Day – a day connected to some of the earliest publications of Emily Dickinson’s work.

Ten of Dickinson’s poems and one letter were published during the poet’s lifetime – and all were published anonymously.  ​

The first work of Dickinson’s to be published was a letter she wrote to friend George Gould, who printed it in the Amherst College “Indicator” in 1850.  This letter begins “Magnum bonum, harem scarum,” and you can read the complete letter by clicking HERE.

You can also read the letter in the 1850 edition of the "Indicator" (pictured at the right) by clicking HERE. 

Notes on this letter from editor Thomas Johnson (who published the 1955 edition of Dickinson's "Complete Poems") are HERE.

A poem written in 1850 with the opening line “Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine” actually uses the word “Valentine” – the only poem of Dickinson’s with that word.  “Valentine” appears at the end of the second line, but you can also see “Valentine Week” written in Dickinson’s handwriting on the top right of her page (see below).
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The first published poem of Dickinson’s was “‘Sic transit gloria mundi.’”  It was published in Springfield Daily Republican in February of 1852, and it was given the title, “A Valentine.”

This poem was written and sent to a friend by the name of William Howland who is most likely the person who submitted it to the paper for publication. 

To access an article about that poem and its publication, click HERE. 

For a complete list of the poems published in Dickinson’s lifetime, click HERE. 

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