They'll have to remember me

"I have a horror of death; the dead are so soon forgotten. But when I die, they'll have to remember me." -Emily Dickinson

taken from National Women's Hall of Fame website: https://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=47

Time and time again in Dickinson's poetry she refers to the lasting power of poetry, which was, afterall, the "fairer house than prose." For the speakers of her poetry, it poetry was a home, eternity, and life. I think it says a lot about Dickinson's faith and confidence in her writing abilities that she could make such a statement. Maybe some people see it as arrogant, but either way, Dickinson was right. When she died, we did remember her.

She was not immediately remembered beyond her family, but to this day thousands of students continue to read and learn about her work. Her impact on form and structure in poetry, or rather her deconstruction of both, were revolutionary and make her a true trailblazer. It is a little disappointing that Dickinson was not inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame until the late 70s, but even if she had never been named, her contributions to the universal body of poetry is still phenomenal and would still be remembered.