大象传媒

Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the 大象传媒's radio poetry archive with 'The Poet and the Murderer'.

Simon Worrall reveals how convicted double murderer Mark Hofmann forged an Emily Dickinson poem so perfect it fooled leading scholars and experts. A gripping true story of poetry, murder and the art of forgery.

Dickinson famously lived much of her life as a recluse, producing her works of concentrated brilliance from the bedroom of her father's house in Amherst, Massachusetts. She chose not to publish during her lifetime and hand-sewn booklets containing some 1,800 poems were discovered in a locked box in her room after her death.

Why does Dickinson continue to fascinate, and what might Hofmann's fake poem tell us about the true poet's work and life?

Producer: Mair Bosworth

First broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio in 2015.