App Amy Lowell Selected Poems: Selected Poems Book

I'm not quite sure how, after an English literature education in America, I still found myself wholly ignorant of Amy Lowell's poems until a chance mention in a historical fiction book prompted me to look her up.

I still don't know much about Lowell, but I hazard to say she was not an expert on aesthetic. However, the overall beauty of her poems far outweighs the occasional clumsy language, as far as I am concerned. In fact, the shades of emotion she conveys with such simple language probably belie complexities I as a first-time reader failed to see.

On a more personal level, these poems moved me and inspired me to reconnect with the outside world and to observe with more care and attention the ones that I love. The inclusion of many specific references to the New England landscape and to the private lives of women in particular resonated deeply with me, but I think Lowell has enough true understanding of the privileges and challenges of human life that most anyone will find aspects they can relate to.

Also, Lowell's own life is worth reading up on all on its own. Seriously, Google her.

This volume itself is a very beautiful, simple, but academically rigorous collection; I found it a great place to get to know Amy.

tl;dr if you want to feel all the feels and also luxuriate in beauty, read Lowell's poetry.