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Emily Dickinson: My Wars Are Laid Away in Books

October 9, 2002
Alfred Habegger writer, independent scholar

One of America's greatest poets, Emily Dickinson remains largely an enigma. Alfred Habegger, author of The Father: A Life of Henry James, Sr., sheds new light on Dickinson in his biography, My Wars Are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson.

In his new book, Habegger probes provocative questions: Was she a lesbian? Why did she refuse to publish her poetry, and why was this refusal so integral to her work? Using legal archives, congregational records and previously unpublished fragments of Dickinson's own letters, Habegger provides a rare personal glimpse into Dickinson's troubled brilliance and shows how Dickinson tuned her "voice" and turned her personal life into a work of art.

WGBH
Cambridge Forum
Image of My Wars Are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson (Modern Library Paperbacks)
Author: Alfred Habegger
Publisher: Modern Library (2002)
Binding: Paperback, 800 pages
Image of The Father: A Life of Henry James, Sr.
Author: Alfred Habegger
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press (2001)
Binding: Paperback, 608 pages