Emily Dickinson wrote poetry.
Emily Dickinson . With the possible exception of Walt Whitman , Dickinson is now recognized as the most important American poet of the 19th century . Although Dickinson 's acquaintances were most likely aware of her writing , it was not until after her death in 1886 -- when Lavinia , Dickinson 's younger sister , discovered her cache of poems -- that the breadth of her work became apparent to the public .