Born in Portland, Oregon, Howell served as a journalist for the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.
Lynx House was founded in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA in the 1970s by Howell, along with David Lyon and Helena Minton.
[2] The press, in addition to hosting the Blue Lynx Prize, also publishes other books of poetry.
[citation needed] His daughter, Emma Howell, was an aspiring poet and student at Oberlin College who died at age 20 in June 2001.
Her family published her poems posthumously in a volume titled Slim Night of Recognition.