The American poet Emily Dickinson decided against publishing her poems, and during her lifetime only seven of her works were ever published. During the Civil War she wrote over 800 poems, many of which were not completed and written on scraps of paper. The later years of her life were primarily spent in mourning due to the numerous deaths among her family and friends. At her death she left behind over 2000 poems. As a result of Emily Dickinson's life of solitude, she was able to focus on her world more sharply than other authors of her time.