“the two sexes cannot be ranked counterparts”
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James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets to rival the popularity of British poets. These writers usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their firesides.
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culture · American poet and diplomat (1819–1891) · poet · diplomat · essayist · writer · literary critic · journalist · pedagogue · publisher · jurist · teacher · also James Russell Lowell, Hugh Perceval, James R. Lowell, James Lowell, Lowell
Born 22 February 1819 · Died 12 August 1891 · Q449670
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2026· 3 entries
“The abolitionists are the only ones with whom I sympathize of the present extant parties.”
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“furnish the intelligent and reflecting portion of the Reading Public with a rational substitute for the enormous quantity of thrice-diluted trash, in the shape of namby-pamby love tales and sketches, which is monthly poured out to them by many of our popular Magazines.”
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1969· 1 entry
The Modern Language Association established a prize named after Lowell, awarded annually for "an outstanding literary or linguistic study, a critical edition of an important work, or a critical biography
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1891· 4 entries
Died 1891-08-12.
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“That best academy, a mother's knee.”
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“Blessed are they who have nothing to say, and who cannot be persuaded to say it.”
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“He who is firmly seated in authority soon learns to think security, and not progress, the highest lesson of statecraft.”
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1877· 1 entry
And, though he expected he would be away for a year or two, did not return to the United States until 1885, with the violinist Ole Bull renting Elmwood for a portion of that time
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1876· 1 entry
That Lowell first stepped into the field of politics
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1874· 2 entries
“Jeffries Wyman. Died September 4, 1874”
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Though he was persuaded to continue teaching through 1877
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1872· 1 entry
After he took a leave of absence from Harvard
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1869· 1 entry
Though Lowell originally wanted to title it The Voyage to the Vinland and Other Poems
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1867· 1 entry
Lowell decided to produce another collection of his poetry
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1857· 2 entries
“My second marriage was the wisest act of my life, & as long as I am sure of it, I can afford to wait till my friends agree with me.”
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Surprising his friends, he became engaged to Frances Dunlap, whom many described as simple and unattractive
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1856· 1 entry
And married Frances Dunlap shortly thereafter in 1857
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1855· 2 entries
Though by December, Lowell had only completed writing five of them, hoping for last-minute inspiration
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Lowell oversaw the publication of a memorial volume of his wife's poetry, with only fifty copies for private circulation
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1854· 1 entry
For example, he wrote: "Dark without & within
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1853· 1 entry
And Lowell accepted a professorship of languages at Harvard in 1854
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1850· 1 entry
Lowell's mother died unexpectedly, as did his third daughter, Rose
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1849· 3 entries
Survived only a few months as well; their only son Walter was born in 1850 but died in 1852
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Lowell said of himself, "I am the first poet who has endeavored to express the American Idea, and I shall be popular by and by
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“I am the first poet who has endeavored to express the American Idea, and I shall be popular by and by.”
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1848· 2 entries
With the publication of A Fable for Critics, a book-length poem satirizing contemporary critics and poets
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Lowell also published The Biglow Papers, later named by the Grolier Club as the most influential book of 1848
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1845· 1 entry
“On the Capture of Certain Fugitive Slaves Near Washington”
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1844· 1 entry
Shortly after the groom published Conversations on Some of the Old Poets, a collection of his previously published essays
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1842· 1 entry
And a series on "Anti-Slavery in the United States" for the Daily News, though his series was discontinued by the editors after four articles in May 1846
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1840· 1 entry
And was admitted to the bar two years later
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1838· 1 entry
Despite his reputation as a troublemaker, and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School
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1834· 1 entry
Though he was not a good student and often got into trouble
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1819· 1 entry
Born 1819-02-22.
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