Men, Women and Ghosts

Men, Women, and Ghosts (1916) is a poetry collection by Amy Lowell. Published at the beginning of her career as an influential imagist devoted to classical poetic themes and forms, Men, Women, and Ghosts is an agile and promising work from a pioneering poet of the early twentieth century. In “Patterns,” the collection’s opening poem, Lowell displays an economy of language and clarity of vision that would define the imagist school, in which she would prove an essential figure: “I walk down garden paths, / And all the daffodils / Are blowing, and the bright blue squills. / […] / I too am a rare / Pattern. As I wander down / The garden paths.” As the speaker of the poem laments the loss of her lover, she remarks: “the man who should loose me is dead, / Fighting with the Duke in Flanders, / In a pattern called a war. / Christ! What are patterns for?” As a poet indebted to tradition and yet interested in the prospect of a modern poetry, as a lesbian and bohemian figure from a prominent Boston family, Lowell was keenly aware of the dangers inherent to “patterns.” Her poems, unique and experimental, are an essential contribution to one of humanity’s oldest art forms. Men, Women, and Ghosts is a vibrant collection from an emerging poet who would come to define the imagist movement throughout her storied career. This edition Amy Lowell’s Men, Women, and Ghosts is a classic work of American poetry reimagined for modern readers.

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