Amy Loveman

Background

Amy Loveman was born on May 16, 1881 in New York City, New York, United States, the daughter of Adolph P. and Adassa Heilprin Loveman.

Education

Amy Loveman graduated from Horace Mann High School and in 1901 received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College. She avoided courses in literature, believing that she should instead seek instruction in subjects in which she was less well-versed. She received an honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from Wheaton College and Wilson College (both 1950).

Career

Loveman's first job was to assist her uncle Louis Heilprin in the revision of the New International Encyclopaedia and Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World; it consisted of editing, checking proof, and writing some of the articles. This job led to a research position at the New York Evening Post, where she quickly advanced to book reviewer. The associations Loveman developed during these years were crucial to her career.

In 1920, with Henry Seidel Canby, William Rose Benét, and Christopher Morley, she established the Post's literary supplement. Despite the success of the Literary Review--it was renowned for its high standards--the newspaper's owners decided in 1924 to suspend its publication. The four editors, however, located backers for a new, independent literary weekly, and on August 2, 1924, the first issue of the Saturday Review of Literature appeared. The masthead listed Canby as editor, Benét and Loveman as associate editors, and Morley as contributing editor. The subsequent business history of the Saturday Review reflects the vagaries of the economics of publishing, but its high quality and editorial stance have remained, surprisingly, unchanged. Although Loveman took other jobs, she never left the staff of the Saturday Review.

Her output was prodigious, and her style of book reviewing reflected her personality. Norman Cousins stated that "her horizons were unblurred by the petty assertions of a sovereign ego. " Her purpose was to promote the role of books in support of truth and the civilized life. Although unhesitant about criticizing poor workmanship or pointing out deceit or evil, she never used a book review as a showcase for her own skill or wit. She inevitably focused the reader's attention on the book and its author. Loveman's reviewing skill won her many friends among authors and publishers, but it was her energy and capacity for work that did much to make the Saturday Review a success. Her commitment was all-consuming. She ran the "Clearing House" section until 1937, answering readers' literary questions. Her book I'm Looking for a Book, published in 1936, was an outgrowth of this work. She was also, at one time, secretary of the corporation, but she always remained a working journalist, staying late each night to read proof, dummy pages, or write.

After Benét's death in 1950, she took over his position as poetry editor. Loveman also assumed major responsibilities for the Book-of-the-Month Club from its beginning in 1926. She was first head of the reading department where an average of 2, 500 books a year were given initial screening and then in 1951, replaced Dorothy Canfield Fisher on the editorial board.

Her civic contributions included service during World War II on the Council on Books in Wartime and direction during the early 1950's of the compilation of writings by Barnard women published in celebration of the bicentennial of Columbia University. Loveman's retiring personality could only partially shield her from receiving honors. She prized most the earliest recognition bestowed upon her: in June 1942 a small group of friends planned a surprise party to present her with a gold medal for her contribution to literature and culture. But as word spread, so many people wrote asking to be included that a ballroom had to be hired. The tributes came from many famous literary figures; their letters, collected in a folder, remained in the top drawer of her desk until her death. Despite a prolonged struggle against cancer she maintained a full working schedule until five days before her death, in New York City.

Achievements

• Loveman contributed around 800 book evaluations to the Saturday Review magazine. Her best-known article was her dissent in 1955 regarding the selection of Robert Ruark's novel about Africa, Something of Value, the content of which, she argued, should have been the subject of anthropological study. Among her other important works were Saturday Papers: Essays on Literature from the Literary Review (1921); Designed for Reading (1934), and Varied Harvest: A Miscellany of Writing by Barnard College Women (1953). Loveman received the Columbia University Medal for Excellence (1946), the Constance Lindsay Skinner Achievement Award of the Women’s National Book Association (1946).

Works

More photos

• book

  • Saturday Papers

    (Saturday papers, essays on literature from the Literary r...)

  • "I'm Looking for a Book"

    (Literary recommendations)

  • Designed for Reading. An anthology drawn from the Saturday Review of Literature. 1924-1934
  • Varied Harvest: A Miscellany of Writing by Barnard College Women, 1888 - 1953

Membership

Loveman was a member of the Book-of-the-Month Club.

Personality

Loveman's zeal for work was unflagging. Her reading, editing, and writing skills were staggering. She never failed to astound colleagues with her quick grasp of the basic strengths and weaknesses of the books she screened and reviewed. The breadth of her knowledge and the catholicity of her taste became the benchmarks not only of her own work but of the review and the club--secrets perhaps of their endurance.

Connections

Father:

Adolph P. Loveman

Mother:

Adassa Heilprin Loveman

Uncle:

Louis Heilprin

References

• Lady editor;: Careers for women in publishing,
• Amy Loveman, 1881-1955;: A eulogy