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LOWELL, JAMES RUSSELL. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 22,
1819; died there, August 12, 1891. More closely in touch with
the life of his own day than any of his poet contemporaries and
with a wider range of sympathy with public affairs, Lowell was
at the same time preeminently the scholar and man of letters,
happily combining the creative, critical, and social qualities
of his nature. He began writing when very young and published
his first book, "A Year's Life," in 1841, the year
after leaving Harvard Law School. Other books of verse followed
at comparatively short intervals, but none made for Lowell a
wide recognition until he published the "Biglow Papers"
in which his racy vein of humor and satire found full vent. The
first series, directed against the Mexican War, began to appear
in 1846; the second series, published in the sixties, pertained
to the Civil War. Both were typically American and gained a wide
audience. In 1855 Lowell succeeded Longfellow
as Professor of Modern Languages and Belles-Lettres at Harvard
University. During the same period he spent several years as
editor of the "Atlantic Monthly" and later as one of
the editors of the "North American Review," in which
much of his finest critical work appeared. Volumes of poetry
and criticism, succeeding each other rapidly, gave proof of the
fecundity of Lowell's mind and the rich storehouse from which
he drew. "Fireside Travels" (1864); "Among My
Books" (1870); "My Study Windows" (1871); and
"Among My Books, Second Series," alternated with volumes
of verse. A new outlet for the versatile talents of Lowell now
presented itself and he was sent as United States Minister to
Spain, a post which he filled so ably that in three years he
was transferred to the Court of St. James in London. Here his
culture, his charm of personality, and his public gifts combined
to render his service among the most distinguished in the history
of American diplomacy. After his return to America he lived quietly
at "Elmwood," his beautiful home in Cambridge, but
did not cease to take an interest in public affairs, always reproached
from the broadest standpoint. Lowell was in the true sense a
citizen of the world and the noblest qualities met in him. The
ferver of the "Commemoration Ode" reveals his spirit.
In poetry his moods were various. He alone among the New England
poets possessed humor, whimsicality, and the gift of kindly satire.
His work in these moods, however, should not obscure that in
others, and some beautiful lyrics remain among his permanent
offerings.
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This biographical note is reprinted
from The Little Book of American Poets: 1787-1900. Ed.
Jessie B. Rittenhouse. Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1915. |
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