Exploring the Literary Legacy of Amherst: Emily Dickinson and Beyond

Amherst, MA has been an educational center of learning for more than 200 years. With three colleges in the city — Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst — it is a hub of higher education. 

Amherst also has a famous past as a literary influence. Many well-known authors and poets either hailed from or lived in the city at some point in their lives. Perhaps the most well known is Emily Dickinson. With a museum in Amherst, Dickinson clearly left her mark on the city. But other writers and poets such as Robert Frost, Mary Heaton Vorse, Noah Webster, and Robert Francis also left an imprint on Amherst. 

Below is a look at the literary legacy of Amherst, Massachusetts.

Emily Dickinson

Born in December of 1830, Emily was raised in what is now called the Homestead in Amherst. Though financial difficulties caused her family to leave the home several years later, they eventually returned, with Emily spending the rest of her life there.

A reclusive figure, Emily rarely left her room and only socialized with those closest to her, including her brother and sister-in-law. Emily died in May of 1886. It wasn’t until after her death that her collection of poems was discovered by her younger sister, Lavinia. Though some of her poetry was published in 1890, a full publication of her collection didn’t occur until 1955. 

Some of Dickinson’s most famous poems include works such as “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” “‘Hope’ is the Thing With Feathers,” and “I felt a Funeral, In My Brain.”

Today the Homestead and its adjoining property, The Evergreens, make up the Emily Dickinson Museum. They are owned and operated by Amherst College.

Robert Frost

Robert Frost was born in March of 1874 in San Francisco, CA. His time in Amherst didn’t begin until 1916 when he came to Amherst College to lecture. He and his family then moved to the area where they remained until his wife’s death in 1938.

Though Frost didn’t remain living in Amherst following his wife’s passing, he returned often, coming back to Amherst College to lecture until his own death in 1963. Between the years of 1917 and 1938, Frost held positions at the college such as English Professor and The Simpson Lecturer in Literature. He won three of his four Pulitzer Prizes during the years he lived in Amherst. 

Frost’s most well-known poems include “The Road Not Taken,” “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “Fire and Ice,” and “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”

Mary Heaton Vorse

Born in 1874 in New York City, Mary Heaton Vorse would become a prominent voice for the American laborer. During her younger years, her family purchased a summer home in Amherst and Mary would spend her time writing about her life there. At the age of 18, she joined a publication called the Criterion where she contributed articles, created illustrations, and wrote reviews on the art scene in Manhattan. 

After her marriage in 1898, Vorse became more involved in the labor movement and covered many labor-based events, strikes, and rallies. She even covered one event where she was grazed by a bullet. Mary not only wrote articles for various magazines and publications, but also authored several books as well. Some of her most notable works include “Autobiography of an Elderly Woman,” “Gastonia,” and “Labor’s New Millions.”

Mary Heaton Vorse passed away in June of 1966 at the age of 91.

Noah Webster

Noah Webster was perhaps one of the earliest residents of Amherst. Born in October of 1758, he first lived in Connecticut before later leaving to attend Yale University. He first worked in law before launching two newspapers in New York. He went on to write “The Grammatical Institute of the English Language” which was used to teach school children how to properly spell, read, and pronounce English. 

Webster was a contemporary of early American political leaders such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. He met and worked with these leaders in the founding of the new postal service and in the Constitutional Convention. He was an advocate for using the new system of American English as a way to mark America’s new independence from Great Britain. 

In 1812, Webster and his wife moved to Amherst where they farmed while he continued to write books. He is perhaps best known for his work “An American Dictionary of the English Language” which he published in 1828. Today, his legacy continues as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Robert Francis

Born in August of 1901 in Pennsylvania, Francis would become a well-known essayist and poet. He received a bachelor’s degree in literature from Harvard and went on to teach English at the American University in Lebanon. He then returned to Harvard for his master’s degree in education before moving to Amherst to teach English at Amherst High School.

Francis served in the army during WWII and, shortly after returning home, began his career in writing. He knew other writers such as Robert Frost and won awards like the Rome Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Some of Francis’s most well known works include his books of poems “Stand With Me Here” and "Valhalla and Other Poems.” He also published a novel, “We Fly Away,” and several other books of poetry before his death in 1987.

Stay Near the History at the Black Walnut Inn

Stay just minutes from literary history at the Black Walnut Inn. This stately Federal-style structure was built in 1801 and has been serving as an inn since 1990. With finely-appointed rooms, a historical past, and access to some of Amherst’s most popular attractions, the Black Walnut Inn is the place to stay.

Book your reservation and come see all that Amherst has to offer!