Emily Dickinson, considered one of the two foremost American poets of the 19th century, presents many unanswered questions concerning her own life and how her life affected her writings. Whatever the answers, what is known is that she was rather reclusive, was extremely devoted to her family, and did not publish during her lifetime. Only seven Dickinson poems were published prior to her death. Born in 1830, by the 1860s she was increasingly withdrawn from contacts beyond her own family. She reportedly never left her house and garden.