Keith Lowe was the winner of the Ames Award in 1960 and the Boylston Prize for Elocution in both 1959 and 1960. (See below for a description of these awards.) Keith’s short story, “New Day”, was first published in The Harvard Advocate in 1961 and subsequently included, on the occasion of Harvard’s 350th anniversary, in an anthology of the early and contributed work of this country’s best-known writers as that work appeared in the pages of the Advocate. The Harvard Advocate first printed in 1866 as a voice of student protest has long since become Harvard’s premier voice of art, fiction, poetry, and criticism. Keith’s short story is included along with student works by such luminaries as Boris Pasternak, T.S. Eliot, Theodore Roosevelt, Leonard Bernstein, and Jonathan Kozol. Also included is the story “Brother Carlisle” by our late classmate, William Melvin Kelley, regarded by some of the best critics as the best black writer in America. Both Keith and William were influenced by Professor John Hawkes who insisted that good writing should have a voice. Note that Keith continues to perform; in 2018, he recited the Speech of the Devil from George Bernard Shaw's play “Man and Superman” at the meeting of the Shaw International Society held annually at the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada.
The Richard Glover Ames and Henry Russell Ames Award
The Ames Award, created in 1935, is given to seniors who have shown heroic character and energy with helping others and whose substantial contributions may not have been acknowledged. This prestigious honor is granted to two members of the senior class during the Class Day Exercises on the day before Commencement. The goal of this award is to honor two unsung heroes of the class.
Boylston Prizes for Elocution
The Boylston Prizes for Elocution were established in 1817 by Ward Nicholas Boylston in honor of his uncle, Nicholas Boylston, who in 1772 established the Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory. Prizes will be awarded after a competition open to seniors, juniors, and sophomores in good standing. The prizes are given “for the delivery of memorized selections from English, Greek, or Latin literature,” not to exceed five minutes in length.
