Ask The Puma Research Guides: I dwell in Possibility

I dwell in Possibility 

Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘I dwell in Possibility’ was written in 1862.  This poem contrasts the everyday world of prose with the many possibilities of a house of poetry, using images of the architecture of a house.  The poem is number 657 in the numbering system developed by Thomas Johnson for Emily Dickinson’s poetry and number 466 in the system used by Ralph Franklin. Dickinson’s poems are often indexed only by their numbers.

Circulating Books – A Selected List

•  Benfey, Christopher E. G. A Summer of Hummingbirds : Love, Art, and Scandal in the Intersecting Worlds of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Martin Johnson Heade. 2008.

                      Call Number: PS1541.Z5 B46 2008

• Bloom, Harold  (ed.). Emily Dickinson. 1985.

                      Call Number: PS1541.Z5 E38 1985

• Bouson, J. (ed.). Emily Dickinson. 2011.

                     Call Number: PS1541.Z5 E385 2011

• Farr, Judith. The Passion of Emily Dickinson. 1992.

                      Call Number: PS1541.Z5 F27 1992

• Habegger, Alfred. My Wars Are Laid Away in Books : the Life of Emily Dickinson . 2001.

                      Call Number: PS1541.Z5 H32 2001

• Leiter, Sharon. Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson : a Literary Reference to Her Life and Work. 2007.

                      Call Number: PS1541.Z5 L376 2007

• Lundin, Roger. Emily Dickinson and the Art of Belief .

                       Call Number: PS1541.Z5 L86 1998

• Martin, Wendy. The Cambridge Companion to Emily Dickinson. 2002.

                          Call Number: PS1541.Z5 C28 2002

• Morgan, Victoria N. Emily Dickinson and Hymn Culture : Tradition and Experience. 2010.
• Call Number: PS1541.Z5 M66 2010
• Pollak. Vivian R. A Historical Guide to Emily Dickinson. 2004.

                         Call Number: PS1541.Z5 H57 2004

• Helen Vendler.  Dickinson : Selected Poems and Commentaries. 2010.

                        Call Number: PS1541.A6 2010

• Wineapple, Brenda. White Heat : The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson. 2008

                         Call Number: PS1541.Z5 W545 2008

 Reference Material

• Feminism in literature - Call Number: REF PN471.F43 2005.

o   Vol. 3, pg. 66-74

• Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism – Call Number:  REF PN761.N5

o   Vol. 171 pg. 143, 156, 177, 183

• Poetry Criticism – Call Number: REF PN1010.P6

o  Vol. 1, pg. 102

Research Databases

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• JSTOR
• Poetry & Short Story Reference Center (EBSCO) 

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.

Valencia College East Campus Library

Last Revised November 21, 2021