* Wrote privately for most of her life: Only a small portion of her poems were published during her lifetime, and even then, under pseudonyms or without her name.
* Didn't consider herself a "professional" poet: She wrote for her own satisfaction and never sought fame or recognition.
* Her poems were discovered after her death: It was her sister, Lavinia, who found her poems and arranged for their publication, revealing the extent of her talent to the world.
However, we can say that Emily Dickinson wrote poems for approximately 30 years before her death in 1886. She started writing in her youth and continued composing throughout her life, even as her seclusion intensified.
While her work was hidden for much of her life, her poems have since become a cornerstone of American literature, celebrated for their unique style and profound explorations of themes like death, nature, and the human experience.