Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium, a collection of carefully pressed plants, reflects her deep connection to nature, scientific curiosity, and poetic imagination. More than a botanical archive, her Herbarium reveals the intimate and layered dialogue she sustained between observation, literary voice, and inner life, offering a profound glimpse into the complexity of her creative world.
In this four-week online course, we will explore Dickinson’s relationship with nature, language, and preservation, and be given the opportunity to create a personal botanical art book inspired by her carefully curated herbarium.
Through mindful observation, writing exercises, visual inspiration, and guided creative exploration, participants will be invited into a slower and more attentive engagement with Dickinson’s poetic universe. Creative exploration may include pressed flowers, collage, hand-written passages, drawing, and experimental bookmaking techniques. Those who prefer a more reflective approach are equally welcome to participate through observation or writing, without the pressure to produce a finished object. This open structure will allow each participant to engage at their own rhythm, according to their energy, curiosity, and creative inclination.
Participants who wish to create a final project will be invited to gather botanical specimens and experiment with composition, arrangement, writing, and bookmaking techniques while designing a unique personal book inspired by Dickinson’s Herbarium. Participants may blend pressed flowers, preserved plants, text, collage, and other expressive media to construct their own poetic and botanical interpretation of Emily's creative world.
This course is intended for lovers of Dickinson's poetry, writers, artists, and anyone drawn to the intersection of poetry, nature, creativity, and contemplative practices. Over the course of four weeks, we will engage with Dickinson’s world, finding inspiration in her warm intensity and translating it into our own poetic, botanical pages.