Lavinia Norcross Dickinson
Encyclopedia
Lavinia Norcross Dickinson (February 28, 1833 – August 31, 1899) was the younger sister of famed American
poet, Emily Dickinson
.
Lavinia, "Vinnie", Dickinson was instrumental in achieving the posthumous publication of her sister's poems after having discovered the forty-odd manuscripts in which Emily had collected her work. Despite promising her sister that she would destroy all correspondence and personal papers, Vinnie sought to have her sister's poetry edited and published by two of Emily's personal correspondents, Thomas Wentworth Higginson
and Mabel Loomis Todd
. Four years after Emily Dickinson's death, in 1890, Poems was published by Roberts Brothers
, Boston. By the end of 1892, it had already been through eleven editions.
The youngest of the Dickinson siblings born to Edward Dickinson
and his wife Emily Norcross in Amherst, Massachusetts
, Vinnie never married and remained at the Homestead until her death.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet, Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
.
Lavinia, "Vinnie", Dickinson was instrumental in achieving the posthumous publication of her sister's poems after having discovered the forty-odd manuscripts in which Emily had collected her work. Despite promising her sister that she would destroy all correspondence and personal papers, Vinnie sought to have her sister's poetry edited and published by two of Emily's personal correspondents, Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Thomas Wentworth Higginson was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with disunion and militant abolitionism...
and Mabel Loomis Todd
Mabel Loomis Todd
Mabel Loomis Todd or Mabel Loomis was an American editor and writer, and the wife of the astronomer David Peck Todd. She is remembered as the editor of posthumously published editions of Emily Dickinson....
. Four years after Emily Dickinson's death, in 1890, Poems was published by Roberts Brothers
Roberts Brothers (publishers)
Messrs. Roberts Brothers were bookbinders and publishers in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1857 by Austin J. Roberts, John F. Roberts, and Lewis A. Roberts, the firm began publishing around the early 1860s...
, Boston. By the end of 1892, it had already been through eleven editions.
The youngest of the Dickinson siblings born to Edward Dickinson
Edward Dickinson
Edward Dickinson was an American politician from Massachusetts. He is best known as the father of the poet Emily Dickinson; their family home in Amherst, the Dickinson Homestead, is now a museum dedicated to her....
and his wife Emily Norcross in Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
, Vinnie never married and remained at the Homestead until her death.