Emily Dickinson

One of the most famed authors of modern times, Emily Dickinson largely considered herself a failure for much of her life. As a fiercely-devote introvert, she was reluctant to embrace many face-to-face relationships, opting instead for correspondence rather than in-person meetings. 

She was born in 1830 in Amherst Massachusetts and led a rather reclusive life for much of her years, being called reclusive and eccentric by the locals who had come to know her. She never married. She spent much of her time writing poems about dystonia subjects such as death, but also wrote vehemently about immortality, things she would also often discuss with “friends” through correspondence. 

While Dickinson became one of the most renowned poets in history, less than a dozen poems were actually published during her lifetime. And, when poems were published, they were usually altered significantly because their style departed so much from the norm of the day with their lack of titles and odd capitalisation and punctuation throughout. 

While Dickinson might have been categorised as a failure during her lifetime, it was likely due to her reluctance to meet or correspond with many people about her work. However, after her death, her sister discovered a significant cache of poems totalling upwards of 1,800 that were eventually published, helping her to ultimately gain international notoriety and fame.