UMass Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press

Book Jacket: "The Emily Dickinson Handbook" edited by G. Grabher, R. Hagenbuchle, and C. Miller

Edited by Gudrun Grabher, Roland Hagenbüchle,
and Cristanne Miller

A major reference work on Emily Dickinson

Here for the first time, students of Emily Dickinson can find a single source of accurate, up-to-date information on the poet's life and works, her letters and manuscripts, the cultural climate of her times, her reception and influence, and the current state of Dickinson scholarship. Written by a distinguished group of contributors from the United States and abroad, the twenty-two essays in this volume reflect the many facets of the poet's oeuvre, as well as the principal trends in Dickinson studies.

Topics include Richard Sewall on Dickinson's life, Agnieszka Salska on her letters, David Porter on themes (or the lack of them) in the poetry, Judith Farr on Dickinson and the visual arts, and Roland Hagenbüchle on the poet and literary theory. Contributions from newer scholars range from Kerstin Behnke on translation and Martha Ackmann on biography to Marietta Messmer on the poet's critical reception and Paul Crumbley on her dialogic voice.

Each essay presents a historical overview of the subject under scrutiny and offers detailed discussion of the most relevant issues. The scholarship is original and exemplary, in some cases providing access to little studied areas (for example, Jonnie Guerra's essay on adaptations of the poems in the arts) and in others providing an overview of hotly debated areas of study (Suzanne Juhasz on new directions in Dickinson study, or Martha Nell Smith on editing the poems).

Unlike encyclopedic entries, each essay also reflects the contributor's distinct and at times controversial point of view. As a result, the essays will prove useful not just to beginning students, but also to established scholars looking for a review of areas of Dickinson studies with which they are less familiar.

"The Handbook makes a hugely significant contribution to the field and will, I am sure, be an invaluable tool for students, libraries, and scholars. . . . The essays are without exception informed, informative, concise, and (given the complexity of their subject matter) very readable. The fact that they are written by the leading scholars of the day makes the collection as a whole all the more authoritative."

Domhnall Mitchell, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Gudrun Grabher is professor and chair of American studies at the University of Innsbruck and author of Emily Dickinson: Das Tranzendentale Ich. Roland Hagenbüchle is professor of American studies at the Catholic University of Eichstätt and author of Emily Dickinson: Wagnis der Selbstbegegnung. Cristanne Miller is W. M. Keck Distinguished Service Professor and professor of English at Pomona College. She is author of Emily Dickinson: A Poet's Grammar and coauthor of Comic Power in Emily Dickinson.

Literary Studies
488 pp., 6 illustrations
LC 98-29853
$45.00s cloth, ISBN 1-55849-169-4
1998

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