Monday, May 15, marks the 131st death anniversary of prolific American poet Emily Dickinson. Often known to be reclusive, Dickison received less fame during lifetime, but was recognized for work after her death.

Born on Dec. 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson was known for her innovative use of form and syntax. During her teenage years, she left school and began living as a recluse and wrote several poetry and hundreds of letters. Apart from writing poetry, Dickinson also studied botany and accumulated a huge herbarium, which is now at Harvard University.

Fewer than a dozen of Dickinson’s poems were published during her lifetime. After her death May 15, 1886 due to Bright’s disease, her younger sister Lavinia discovered Dickinson's nearly 1,800 poems. The first volume was published four years after her death.

Now, Dickinson is considered one of the important figures of American literature.

On Monday, Bettendorf Public Library in Bettendorf, Iowa will hold a discussion of her work at 8 p.m. EDT. The discussion’s theme is “resistance – or – interior uprisings.”

Here are some famous quotes by Dickison, gathered from BrainyQuote and Goodreads.

“To love is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.”

“Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation, and the exponent of breath.”

“That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.”

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.”

“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”

“Saying nothing sometimes says the most.”

“Truth is so rare that it is delightful to tell it.”

“Fortune befriends the bold.”

“Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.”

“Parting is all we know of heaven, and all we need of hell.”

“A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King.”

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?”

“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.”

“Pardon My Sanity In A World Insane”

“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.”

“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”

“I dwell in possibility…”

“Fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate.”

“If fame belonged to me, I could not escape her; if she did not, the longest day would pass me on the chase, and the approbation of my dog would forsake me then. My barefoot rank is better.”

“Hold dear to your parents for it is a scary and confusing world without them.”

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