Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886

British filmmaker Terence Davies turns his attention to the gifted New England poet in his new movie. Critic Justin Chang calls the film a "sharp, sensitive portrait" of a woman ahead of her time.

When Emily Dickinson died in the 1880s, she was a reclusive, barely published writer. Today, she is a fully canonized, iconic poet. Former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins says the progress of her status was unprecedented.

Lyndall Gordon's Lives Like Loaded Guns explores the family secrets of the reclusive 19th-century poet. Gordon theorizes that Dickinson may have been epileptic, and describes the cult-generational family feud over the posthumous publication of the poet's work.

The former U.S. poet laureate explains his admiration for Emily Dickinson -- and shares some of his favorite Dickinson poems. Collins says her words have a "sheer, untouchable originality."

Brenda Wineapple's highly engaging biography White Heat examines the poet's enduring friendship with editor Thomas Wentworth Higginson.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews My Wars Are Laid Away In Books (Random House), the new biography of Emily Dickinson by Alfred Habegger.

Critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two books that you might want to give as holiday presents. First, a children's book called Emily, by Michael Bedard, about a young girl who meets Emily Dickinson. Second: The Open Door, a new paperback collection of writers writing about what made them love to read books when they were young.