Among the finest poets America has ever produced, Emily Dickinson lived a life of quiet solitude. A master of the short lyric poem, her preoccupation with death and immortality permeated many of her greatest works. It is Dickinson's handwritten draft of "I died for beauty - but was scarce" that we have reproduced here. Original Art: Emily Dickinson's handwritten poem "I died for beauty - but was scarce". Era: 1800s. Region: Massachusetts, United States.