Amy Lowell
Samantha Monnett
English 11
Literature of America
April 27, 2012
The Life of a So Called Lesbian Amy Lowell was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on February 9, 1874. She was the daughter of Augustus Lowell and Katherine Bigelow Lawrence. Both her mother and father were from New England aristocrats. Aristocrats are wealthy and prominent members of society. Her father, Augustus, was a businessman, civic leader, and horticulturalist. Lowell’s mother, Katherine, was an accomplished musician and linguist. Lowell was, although, considered as “almost disreputable,” poets ran in the Lowell family. James Russell Lowell, a first cousin, and later Robert Lowell was one of the many poets her family had to offer. Being a part of a wealthy family, Lowell was first educated at the family home, “Sevenels,” which was named by her father as a reference to the seven Lowells living there. She was taught by an English governess who left Lowell with a lifelong inability to spell. Lowell wrote her first poem at the age of nine called “Chacago,” which was written as a testament to her spelling problem. She began attending a series of private schools in Brookline and Boston in the fall of 1883. Lowell was “the terror of the faculty” at school. She also attended Mrs. Cabot’s school which was founded by a Lowell cousin to educate her own children and the children of friends and relatives. Lowell was “totally indifferent to classroom decorum. Noisy, opinionated, and spoiled, she terrorized the other students and spoke back to her teachers” (Heymann, p. 164). Lowell loved traveling with her family during her school vacations. She went to Europe, New Mexico, and California. Later on she started to keep a travel journal, she loved to write. She wrote two stories which were printed in Dream Drops; or, Stories from Fairyland (1887), by a “Dreamer.” Lowell’s mother privately published her. Katherine also contributed material, which the proceeds were donated to the
English 11
Literature of America
April 27, 2012
The Life of a So Called Lesbian Amy Lowell was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on February 9, 1874. She was the daughter of Augustus Lowell and Katherine Bigelow Lawrence. Both her mother and father were from New England aristocrats. Aristocrats are wealthy and prominent members of society. Her father, Augustus, was a businessman, civic leader, and horticulturalist. Lowell’s mother, Katherine, was an accomplished musician and linguist. Lowell was, although, considered as “almost disreputable,” poets ran in the Lowell family. James Russell Lowell, a first cousin, and later Robert Lowell was one of the many poets her family had to offer. Being a part of a wealthy family, Lowell was first educated at the family home, “Sevenels,” which was named by her father as a reference to the seven Lowells living there. She was taught by an English governess who left Lowell with a lifelong inability to spell. Lowell wrote her first poem at the age of nine called “Chacago,” which was written as a testament to her spelling problem. She began attending a series of private schools in Brookline and Boston in the fall of 1883. Lowell was “the terror of the faculty” at school. She also attended Mrs. Cabot’s school which was founded by a Lowell cousin to educate her own children and the children of friends and relatives. Lowell was “totally indifferent to classroom decorum. Noisy, opinionated, and spoiled, she terrorized the other students and spoke back to her teachers” (Heymann, p. 164). Lowell loved traveling with her family during her school vacations. She went to Europe, New Mexico, and California. Later on she started to keep a travel journal, she loved to write. She wrote two stories which were printed in Dream Drops; or, Stories from Fairyland (1887), by a “Dreamer.” Lowell’s mother privately published her. Katherine also contributed material, which the proceeds were donated to the
Cited: . Academy of American Poets, 1997-2012. Web. March 28, 2012. . American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by the American Council of Learned Societies Axelrod, Steven Gould. Lowell, Amy. World Book: Web, 2012. Encyclopedia Americana, . Lowell, Amy. 17. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1994. 813-814. . N.p., n.d. Web. March 27, 2012. . The World Book Encyclopedia, . Lowell, Amy. 12. World Book Inc., 1993. 514.