The poet and philhellenist H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) was born in 1886 in Bethlehem, PA. Around 1895, the Doolittle family moved from the Moravian community in Bethlehem to Upper Darby. While living in Pennsylvania, H.D. met fellow poets Ezra Pound, to whom she was briefly engaged, and William Carlos Williams. Both of the young men were students at the University of Pennyslvania, where Hilda's father was a professor of astronomy. She began attending Bryn Mawr College in 1905 as a day student and made the acquaintance of fellow students Marianne Moore and Mary Herr. After three semesters, H.D. withdrew from college. Her motives for leaving are not clear, although the catalyst may have been illness, poor grades, or her relationship with Ezra Pound. Years later she would write to Mary Herr (1959 July 19) that she was "practically invisible" at the college.
The collection consists of one box of material, divided into two categories: Correspondence and Miscellaneous Materials.