ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: REMAPPING DICKINSON AND PERIODICAL STUDIES

My dissertation addresses Emily Dickinson’s neglected periodical poems of the 1890s. In examining these poems, it 1) updates and recasts the narrative of Dickinson’s posthumous production and 2) challenges long-held assumptions about periodical culture that have contributed to that culture’s neglect. Since circulation figures of the periodicals easily exceeded sales figures for Dickinson books in the 1890s and some poems remained uncollected until almost the mid-twentieth century, these poems are vital for understanding the reception and publishing history of Dickinson’s poetry. Further, the movement beyond authorial intention in textual studies encourages us to look at “unsanctioned ” texts like Dickinson’s periodical poems. My project unseats the book-centered nature of production and reception narratives and challenges larger perceptions about the presentation and distribution of American poetry in the nineteenth century, foregrounding the central role periodicals played in fostering and recording readers’ desire for the genre. This project initially examines how Dickinson’s periodical texts worked in concert with the marketing of the four Dickinson books published in the 1890s: POEM