Publication — is the Auction Summary & Analysis
by Emily Dickinson

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"Publication — is the Auction," by the American poet Emily Dickinson, argues that publication is a "foul" practice, akin to selling one's own mind or the very "air" one breathes. The speaker insists that all thought (and thus creative inspiration) comes from God, and, as such, isn't people's to profit off in the first place. Writers are just vessels through which God's grace and wisdom flow, and putting a price on writing simply degrades both the author and their work. Dickinson wrote this poem in 1863; like most of her work, it was published posthumously.

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