This book is a transcript of a public meeting held to honor William Dean Howells, President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, from the time of its inception until his death. It includes speeches, remembrances and tributes from fellow members of the Academy and colleagues of Howells in the literary world. The volume serves as a celebration of the life and work of one of the founding fathers of the American literary canon. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.