The place to begin a visit to Emily Dickinson's Amherst is The Dickinson Homestead. Here, visitors can learn the history of the house and step into Dickinson's bedroom where she wrote her 1,775 poems. To prepare for your own visit, you might want to read Jodi Werner's essay, "The Dickinson Homestead," which describes her visit to the poet's home.

Visitors will then want to go next door to The Evergreens, the home of Austin and Sue Dickinson, Dickinson's brother and sister-in-law. For the inside scoop on this house, see the New York Times article, "The House Where a Scandal Divided Emily Dickinson's Family." You have to register for this free online service—but it's well worth your time to do so!

Now that you've explored Dickinson's home, you'll want to get a sense of the larger town of Amherst. This excellent "walking tour" will give you the opportunity to see a number of homes and landmarks in the community. Here, visitors can see the site of the Amherst Academy, which Dickinson attended, as well as the home of Dickinson's biographer and the home of her editor Mabel Loomis Todd. 

Read Patricia's thoughts on standing in Emily's bedroom. Read Deidre's Dickinson-inspired poem. Look at Dan's beautiful drawing inspired by "Faith is a fine invention." And be absolutely sure to look at T C's wonderful poem, "Out Emily's Window" (accompanied by a little-known photograph of Emily Dickinson).

Top Left: The Dickinson Homestead (photo by Anna Hughes). Bottom Left: The Evergreens (photo by Anna Hughes).

No visit to Amherst is complete without a trip to West Cemetery to pay homage to Emily Dickinson. This was one of the true highlights of our trip.

Left: Emily Dickinson's tombstone (photo by Linda Tate).