Amy Lowell

Author Code: AALW

From a family of New England aristocrats which included James Russell Lowell, acousin, Amy was educated by a governess at home during her early years. From 1883 until 1891, she attended a variety of private schools and by all accounts was a spoiled, noisy terror to all those around her. She began to write at a very early age, with her first poem, Chacago (her spelling), appearing when she was only 9. In 1891, she made her debut, and the next few years were spent as a socialite. In 1897, she travelled to Egypt after doctors felt that her obesity might be alleviated by the trip and a rigid diet. She took over the family estate of Sevenels on her father's death in 1900. Over the next few years, Amy took an active part in civic affairs and continued to write poetry, contributing to the Atlantic Monthly among others.Her first book of poems, A Dome of Many-Colored Glass, was published in 1912, but was not well received. Becoming interested in the Imagist movement in poetry she travelled to London where she met Ezra Pound, the head of the movement. She published many poems in journals of the time and slowly her popularity rose. Sword Blades and Poppy Seed was published in 1914 and was very successful. Lowell was also an energetic essayist and critic and her first book of criticism, Six French Poets, came out in 1915. Her other important works include Men, Women and Ghosts (1916), Can Grande's Castle (1918), Pictures of a Floating World (1919), Legends (1921), Fir-Flower Tablets (1921), A Critical Fable (1922), and her biography of John Keats (1925). Lowell was awarded the Pulitizer Prize for Poetry in 1925 for the posthumous publication, What's O'Clock.