Premise: Emily Dickinson . With the possible exception of Walt Whitman , Dickinson is now recognized as the most important American poet of the 19th century . While Dickinson was a prolific private poet , fewer than a dozen of her nearly 1,800 poems were published during her lifetime . Although Dickinson 's acquaintances were most likely aware of her writing , it was not until after her death in 1886 -- when Lavinia , Dickinson 's younger sister , discovered her cache of poems -- that the breadth of her work became apparent to the public . Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd , though both heavily edited the content . Despite some unfavorable reception and skepticism over the late 19th and early 20th centuries regarding her literary prowess , Dickinson is now almost universally considered to be one of the most significant of all American poets .
Hypothesis: Emily Dickinson was not a poet.
Label: CONTRADICTION