The Lowell Offering was a monthly periodical published from 1840 to 1845 that featured works of poetry and fiction by the female textile workers (ages 15 to 35) known as the Lowell Mill girls, during the early American Industrial Revolution. It was originally organized by Reverend Abel Charles Thomas, pastor of the Second Universalist Church. It consisted of articles from many local improvement circles or literary societies. It later received contributions from Lowell’s female textile workers. They contributed poems, ballads, essays, and fiction—often using characters that were a reflection of their lives.
The Editorial Team finds it fitting that the name of the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s literary magazine reflects the city’s rich cultural and literary heritage. They hope that working on these pages will honor and contribute to that legacy.
