Patterns by Amy Lowell | Introduction & Overview

Patterns Introduction

Amy Lowell's poem "Patterns" was first published in a monthly magazine called The Little Review in August 1915. The Little Review had a small circulation, but it attracted the attention of many notable writers of the time. By the time "Patterns" was published, Lowell herself had already become known as a poetic innovator with her second book, Sword Blades and Poppy Seeds (1914). She included "Patterns" in her third book, Men, Women, and Ghosts, an immediate bestseller published in October 1916. In spite of her popularity during her lifetime, most of Lowell's work was not republished after her death. However, a posthumous collection published in 1926—one year after her death—entitled What's O'Clock received the Pulitzer Prize. "Patterns" is one of her best-known poems, probably because it appeared in anthologies throughout the twentieth century. It is included in the most recent volume of Lowell's selected poems.

"Patterns" tells the deceptively...
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