IN-PERSON PROGRAM

This in-person program is free to attend. Registration is required. 

REGISTER

On May 16, in honor of the 140th 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 explores Amherst’s cultural landscape and its significance 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.

A Daisy for Dickinson
As part of this beloved tradition, Poetry Walk participants and Museum staff adorn Emily Dickinson’s grave at Amherst’s West Cemetery with fresh daisies. If you wish to make “A Daisy for Dickinson” gift to the Museum in memory of the poet or someone you have loved, we will place a daisy in their name at the poet’s grave site as part of this year’s commemorative Poetry Walk on May 16th. Please use this link to make your gift and, if you wish, tell us something about the person you are honoring. Thank you!

IN-PERSON PROGRAM

Come celebrate the beauty of spring during Garden Day at the Emily Dickinson Museum! As spring temperatures arrive in Amherst, Emily’s garden begs to be tended. Join Museum staff and fellow volunteers to aid in the cultivation and growth of the historic Dickinson family landscape. On Garden Day, participants will help to weed, divide older perennials, plant new perennials and annuals, edge flower beds, and more! 

This in-person program is free to attend. Registration is required. 

REGISTER

Phosphorescence April 2026 featured poets:
Matthew Johnson and Oak Morse

VIRTUAL PROGRAM

This virtual program is free to attend. Registration is required. 

REGISTER

To Emily Dickinson, phosphorescence was a divine spark and the illuminating light behind learning — it was volatile, but transformative in nature. Produced by the Emily Dickinson Museum, the Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series celebrates contemporary creativity that echoes Dickinson’s own revolutionary poetic voice. The Series features established and emerging poets whose work and backgrounds represent the diversity of the flourishing contemporary poetry scene. Join us on a Thursday evening each month to hear from poets around the world as they read their work and discuss what poetry and Dickinson mean to them.

About this month’s poets:

Matthew Johnson is author of several poetry collections, including, Far from New York State (NYQ Press), and the forthcoming, Jackie Robinson’s Real Gone: Baseball Poems of New York (Cornerstone Press). His poetry has appeared/forthcoming in The African American Review, Apple Valley Review, London Magazine, and elsewhere. A recipient of multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations, as well as a finalist for the Diverse Book Award (Grand View University) and E.E. Cummings Poetry Award (New England Poetry Club), he is the managing editor of The Portrait of New England and the poetry editor of The Twin Bill.

Oak Morse lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and an MLIS from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is the recipient of the 2025 Larry Levis Post-Graduate Award and the 2024 A Public Space Writing Fellowship. Oak has received support from PEN America and fellowships from Brooklyn Poets, Twelve Literary Arts, Cave Canem’s Starshine, and Clay, as well as a Stars in the Classroom honor from the Houston Texans. His work appears in POETRY, Callaloo, Electric Literature, Black Warrior Review, Obsidian, Painted Bride Quarterly, and Hobart, with work forthcoming in Rattle, among others.

Support Phosphorescence and Honor Someone Special:
Admission to all Phosphorescence events is free, but online donations, especially those made in honor or memory of family, friends, or colleagues are heartily encouraged and vital to the future of our programs. All gifts are tax-deductible.