‘Sleeping the churchyard sleep’
The Grave of Emily Dickinson
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This headstone is that of the late Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, located in the very center of West Cemetery. A prolific writer of poetry, Dickinson spent her entire life in Amherst, Massachusetts—living less than a mile from this spot. In fact, she was actually born in her family homestead (now the Emily Dickinson Museum) on Main Street on December 10, 1830.
Admirers often leave trinkets atop Dickinson’s headstone.
Although she is now widely known for her verse, during her life, she was considered more of a gardener. She had a keen interest in tending plants in the family conservatory and in the yard. More than 400 specimens she collected are pressed in her herbarium collection, now housed at Harvard University’s Houghton Library.
Dickinson surrounded herself with beauty and infused a lot of humor into her work. However, her life was not always a cheerful one. She increasingly felt a sense of foreboding as she faced the deaths of many family members and friends, “some of my friends are gone, and some of my friends are sleeping—sleeping the churchyard sleep—the hour of evening is sad.”
Artist Jeff Wrench painted a utility box in downtown Amherst in 2018 to honor Dickinson; it carries a famous quote.
In her later years, she became more of a recluse, secluding herself in the house—and even just her room—for weeks. Near the end of her life, she ceased much of her gardening and poetry work and, before her death, had only published 10 of her poems. She died at the age of 55 with one last wish: she requested that she not have a funeral procession, but that her “coffin [was] not driven but carried through fields of buttercups” for her burial. And thus her arrival at West Cemetery was accomplished.
After her passing, her family found and published the rest of her poems, nearly 1,800 in total, which have since been propagated around the world and lauded as essential American literature. Her impact on the art of poetry is undeniable. And her image has taken on a life of its own in popular culture as a symbol of rebellion against social expectations.
The indelible mark she has left on her readers and the public writ large is ever apparent at her headstone, where visitors leave meaningful objects in her honor. One wonders how she would feel knowing that so many want to give a little bit of themselves back to her. One also wonders what she would think about Amherst now.
Have you been to visit Emily?
Fan of her poetry? Each year the museum hosts the Tell It Slant festival, a free event including a reading where enthusiasts read all 1,789 of Dickinson’s poems marathon style.
We’re on the lookout
Share your most intriguing nooks, niches, coordinates, or curiosities on campus or anywhere in the region. Email magazine@umass.edu and we’ll investigate!