IN-PERSON PROGRAM
This in-person program is free to attend. Registration is required.
On May 10, in honor of the 139th anniversary of the poet’s death, join the Emily Dickinson Museum for the annual Poetry Walk through downtown Amherst, the town she called “paradise.” This year’s Walk celebrates the opening of the newly reconstructed carriage house with stops that explore its significance to Amherst’s cultural landscape and to the poet herself. Take the walk at your own pace, but be sure to head to Dickinson’s grave in West Cemetery in time for the 12pm final poems and a lemonade toast to our favorite poet!
The Walk takes approximately 40 minutes to complete. Participants begin at the Homestead at any time between 10am and 11am to pick up their Poetry Walk map and daisies to lay at the grave. The Walk stations close at 11:45am so that all participants can make it to the final stop at noon in West Cemetery.
Registration for this program is free or by donation, but it is required in advance. Registration for the Walk does not include admission to the Museum. For Museum tour tickets click here.
Accessibility Information
The full walk is about 1 mile and is largely accessed by paved sidewalks, though some uneven terrain is possible. Participants who would prefer to meet us for the final toast are welcome to check in at the Homestead before 11:15am and then drive to West Cemetery. Cemetery parking is available behind Zanna’s clothing store.
“And so I pieced it, with a flower, now”
As a part of the 2025 Poetry Walk, the entrance to the Homestead will be transformed into a site-specific installation inspired by Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
Created for the Museum by artists Lisa McCarty & D. Edward Davis, the installation features Emily Dickinson’s iconic white dress as a projection screen for images of the Poet’s herbarium. Over 400 images of individual flowers collected by Dickinson will be shown as part of McCarty’s video projection, together with a haunting soundscape of hymns, drones, and birdsong by Davis. As a whole, the installation is inspired by Dickinson’s practice of attentively, and ecstatically, responding to elements of the living world through both her poetry and her herbarium.
About the artists
D. Edward Davis is a composer of electronic and acoustic music. His work often engages with the sounds of the environment, exploring processes, patterns, and systems inspired by nature. In February 2025, cmntx records released his 100 untitled works in resonant aluminum (with original art and design by Lisa McCarty) on CD and all streaming platforms. Davis is currently a Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of New Haven.
Lisa McCarty’s photographs, books, and videos explore environmentally conscious communities and rituals. McCarty has participated in over 100 exhibitions and screenings at venues including Amherst College, Cassilhaus, Duke University, Fruitlands Museum, Griffin Museum of Photography, Microscope Gallery, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, the New York Film Festival, and the Visual Studies Workshop. Her recent books include Transcendental Concord (Radius Books) and The Arboretum Aphorisms (SF Cinematheque Press). McCarty lives and works in Boston where she teaches at Northeastern University.
A Daisy for Dickinson: Be a part of the beloved tradition of outfitting Emily Dickinson’s final resting place at Amherst’s West Cemetery with fresh daisies on the anniversary of her death. Make a supporting donation to the Museum in honor of Emily or in memory of a loved one and we’ll place a daisy in their name at the poet’s grave as part of this year’s Poetry Walk (May 10).
If you would like to make a supporting gift to the Museum in honor of Emily or in memory of someone you’ve loved, you may do so below.