Rather than being a straight-forward biography, the sweet graphic novel Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson by Linda Corry (Godwin Books, October 2024) captures her uniqueness, her passion for botany and nature, and her different way of looking at the world. Teenage Emily learns botany at her school desk, but with her dog Carlo she explores the fields and forests near her home, despite the disapproval of some in her family. Along with phrases from Emily Dickinson and gentle double-spread illustrations of nature, Corry manages to encapsulate the beauty of nature. The inclusion of some of Dickinson’s poems is a lovely bonus.
From my perspective as an adult who has studied Dickinson, I found this lovely approach to the complicated person a refreshing reminder of the complexities of personality. I loved the background information I learned about Emily Dickinson’s childhood, void of the debilitating depression the isolated grown-up Emily Dickinson would experience. The predominantly warm yellow, orange, and brown pictures include whimsical illustrations of insects, flowers, and plants, given each illustration the same poetic feel inherent in not just the text but also Dickinson’s poetry.
Is it clear that I enjoyed Wildflower Emily? I certainly did! It captured the author’s goal, as stated in her forward, of capturing the “spirit of Emily Dickinson.”
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance review copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.