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Emily Dickinson is a highly regarded American poet. Her sexuality has been discussed for many years. Her poems are often to and about her best friend and sister-in-law Susan Gilbert. In recent years, Apple TV produced a show titled Dickinson that details her life when writing some of her most famous poems and her intimate relationship with Gilbert.

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Poet Emily Dickinson

The Museum of Emily Dickinson is ambiguous when it comes to discussing her sexuality.[1] However, her relationship with her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert, has caused some academics to assert that she was a lesbian.[2] Professors Ellen Louise Hart and Martha Nell Smith wrote that Gilbert was a muse to Dickinson, stating that "Emily's correspondence to Susan unequivocally acknowledges that their emotional, spiritual, and physical communion is vital to her creative insight and sensibilities." [3] While The Museum of Emily Dickinson continues to profit off of the ideas of ambiguity and uncertainty regarding Dickinson's sexuality, Apple TV produced the show Dickinson that shows that lesbian figures exist throughout history but have been erased. Dickinson creator Alena Smith described Dickinson's sexuality as "fluid or queer, but I think that can mean a lot of different things." [4]

  1. ^ Bartram, Robin; Brown-Saracino, Japonica; Donovan, Holly (2021-01-18). "Uncertain Sexualities and the Unusual Woman: Depictions of Jane Addams and Emily Dickinson". Social Problems. 68 (1): 168–184. doi:10.1093/socpro/spz058. ISSN 0037-7791.
  2. ^ Comment, Kristin M. (2009). ""Wasn't She a Lesbian?" Teaching Homoerotic Themes in Dickinson and Whitman". The English Journal. 98 (4): 61–66. ISSN 0013-8274.
  3. ^ Dickinson, Emily (1998). Open me carefully : Emily Dickinson's intimate letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson. Ellen Louise Hart, Martha Nell Smith, Cairns Collection of American Women Writers (1st ed.). Ashfield, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-9638183-6-8. OCLC 39746998.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Kupfer, Lindsey (2019-10-31). "'Dickinson' creator explores Emily Dickinson's sexuality". Page Six. Retrieved 2022-10-04.