Poet and critic Amy Lowell (1874-1925) was at the center of an often-passionate public debate about poetry in the early 20th century. Her public image as a cigar-smoking, combative, and tireless propagandist for contemporary poetry has overshadowed her parallel life as a major collector of rare books and manuscripts. Throughout her strenuous career as poet and lecturer, she found time to pursue her passion for collecting, and was one of the few women competing in the male-dominated world of collecting.

In celebration of Lowell’s 150th birthday, Leslie A. Morris, Gore Vidal Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts at Houghton Library, where Lowell’s collection is now housed, will detail the why and how of Lowell’s collecting.