Eric Wittenberns - Emily Dickinson ‘The heart asks first – Happiness’…

Emily Dickinson 'The heart asks first – Happiness'… Translation: Elly de Waard Edition: 55 numbered copies Two color printing: Pink (in iris gradient) and black Size: 56.5 cm (high) and 39 cm (wide) 1979 Salix Alba
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet whose work, along with that of Walt Whitman, heralded a new era in American poetry: modernism. Although she lived a reclusive life and achieved little fame during her active years, she was recognized after her death as one of the most important and influential figures in American poetry. Dickinson was a prolific writer, but published only a few of her nearly 1,800 poems during her lifetime. Her published poetry was extensively edited by others to conform to conventional poetic rules. Dickinson's poems were ahead of their time. They contained short lines, were usually untitled, and were characterized by a condensed style, irregular half-rhyme, experimental capitalization, and free punctuation. Many of her poems deal with romantic themes such as death, love, and immortality, but also explore aspects of aesthetics, nature, and spirituality. Although Dickinson's acquaintances were likely aware of her writing, her work was not made public until after her death, when her younger sister Lavinia discovered her hidden collection of poems. Her first collection of poems was published in 1890 by her friends Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, although both heavily edited the content. A complete, and largely unaltered, collection of her poetry, entitled The Poems of Emily Dickinson, became available in 1955.