Emily Dickinson: Profile of the Poet as Cook with Selected Recipes by Emily Dickinson

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Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830-May 15, 1886) is best known as one of the greatest poets in American history. But did you know that she was also an accomplished cook? Emily seems to have been most at home in the kitchen, as evidenced by letters and documents from her family estate. She took great pride in making delicate cakes, cookies, and candies, both for her family and as gifts for friends. To every 19th century woman, breadmaking was basic. Emily Dickinson was no exception. In fact, her Rye and Indian bread and gingerbread made her more famous in the Amherst of her day than did her poetry. But what she crafted at her writing table was food of a spiritual sort. Poems and notes, like presents from her kitchen, were also sent to friends. Both were tokens of an inner fire of insight or affection. The selected recipes in these pages — whether her own or of relatives and friends — are sometimes combined with her lines. Readers may now taste two complementary sorts of bread from Emily’s hand.