Amy Lowell anew : a biography

279 Pages·2013·3.78 MB·English

by  Lowell

AMY LOWELL ANEW

AMY LOWELL ANEW
A Biography
Carl Rollyson
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
PublishedbyRowman&LittlefieldPublishers,Inc.
AwhollyownedsubsidiaryofTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,
Inc.
4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706
www.rowman.com
10ThornburyRoad,PlymouthPL67PP,UnitedKingdom
Copyright©2013byCarlRollyson
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorby
anyelectronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretriev-
alsystems,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewer
whomayquotepassagesinareview.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Rollyson,CarlE.(CarlEdmund)
AmyLowellanew:abiography/CarlRollyson.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4422-2392-9(cloth:alk.paper)—ISBN978-1-4422-2394-3(electronic)
1.Lowell,Amy,1874-1925.2.Poets,American—20thcentury—Biography.3.Womenandlitera-
ture—UnitedStates—History—20thcentury.I.Title.
PS3523.O88Z742013
811'.52—dc23
[B]
2013012771
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsof
AmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaper
forPrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Probablynogreatwomaneversosuccessfullyconcealedherselfby
elaboratetrappings.ThepoeticalMissLowellremindsmeocca-
sionallyofawhole-heartedandbeautifuldowagerwho,afraidthat
herownpersonwillfailtocharm,hedgesherselfaboutwithsilks
andsatins,perfumes,flowers,jewels,andclankingmetals,untilshe
seemsaveritablemuseumofobjetsd’art,andtherealwoman
beneath,fineandtrueassheis,becomesdiscernibleonlytothose
whoarepatientenoughtolookandtowait.
—JohnFarrar,ed.,TheLiterarySpotlight,1924
Shehadopportunitiesofbeingherself,ofbeingsincere,thatarenot
reallygiventomany.
—JohnDrinkwater,AmyLowellMemorialMeeting
heldatKeatsHouse,April15,1926
TheonetimeIdinedattheBrooklineestate,IfeltasifIwerein
audiencewithalaterRomanemperor—possiblyNerofiddling
amongtheflames.Andyet,Ilearnedtoknowheralittlemore
closely,perhapsmoreaccurately.Inunguardedmoments,she
seemedanimmenselyfeminineperson,notwithoutinnocenceand
wistfulness,andIdecided—ifonecaneverdecideanything—that
herabnormalambitionandindustryhadobscuredhertruecharac-
ter.Therolesheplayedfortheworldwasmasculine,valiant,com-
bative—andtheinnerbeing,private,lonely,susceptibletohuman
fragility.
—AlfredKreymborg,OneSingingStrength:
AnOutlineofAmericanPoetry,1929
SomewherewithinthatfaceandformsocloselyresemblingHolbe-
in’sHenryVIIIwashiddenaheartthattheworldandthecritics
missed.
—FerrisGreenslet,UndertheBridge:AnAutobiography,1943

CONTENTS
Author’sNote ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction:TheAbsenceofAmyLowell xv
1 OutoftheBrood(1874–1912) 1
2 AVoiceintheLand(1910–1914) 31
3 SwordBladesandPoppySeed(1915) 65
4 Reaping(1915–1916) 77
5 Winning(1917) 91
6 War(1918) 107
7 Peace(1919) 119
8 Recovery(1920–1921) 131
9 Renewal(1921–1922) 145
10 Sisters(1922–1923) 161
11 TheDeathofDuse(1923–1924) 171
12 Keats(1924–1925) 179
13 Done(1925) 189
14 LegacyandLoss(1925–) 195
Notes 205
Index 239
AbouttheAuthor 247
vii