Helene Mullins (July 12, 1899 - October 26, 1991) was an American poet whose work appeared frequently in magazines and newspapers across the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. Much of it was syndicated through Franklin Pierce Adams' ''Conning Tower'' column published in the

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

newspaper. Mullins published four collections of poetry: ''Earthbound and Other Poems'' (1929), ''Balm in Gilead'' (1930), ''Streams from the Source'' (1938), and ''The Mirrored Walls and Other Poems'' (1970). She authored two novels early in her career: ''Paulus Fy: the History of an Aesthete'' (1924), co-written with her sister, Marie Gallegher, and ''Convent Girl'' (1929). Mullins' work was included in ''Modern American Poetry: A Critical Anthology'' by

Louis Untermeyer Louis Untermeyer (October 1, 1885 – December 18, 1977) was an American poet, anthologist, critic, and editor. He was appointed the fourteenth Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1961. Life and career Untermeyer was born in New Y ...

in 1930. Helene Mullins (née Gallegher) was born in New Rochelle, New York. Aside from some time spent in Hollywood, Santa Fe, and Washington DC, the poet lived most of her adult life in New York City. Mullins was married twice, first to Ivan Mullins in 1920, and then to Linné Johnson in 1958. Helene Mullins' poetry has been compared to that of Christina Rossetti. Her writing was compact, intense, lyrical, and often spiritual. Mullins wrote in a somewhat old-fashioned style for her time, but her poetry nonetheless had a modern sensibility, and it was accessible to the wide audience it reached in Scribner's Magazine,

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

, and in wide syndication through the ''New York World'' newspaper. In 1927, Mullins was commissioned by the American Opera Company, along with

music critic

Robert A. Simon Robert Alfred Simon (1897 in New York City – 27 April 1981 in New York City) was an American writer, translator, and music critic for ''The New Yorker'' from its first issue in 1925 until 1948. A graduate of Columbia University, in addition ...

, to create a new English libretto for

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

. The opera's new libretto was performed widely across North America over the next few years. In 1935, Mullins suffered serious injuries when she was struck by a car while crossing the street. She was in a coma for several weeks, and she took several years to recover."Poetess Foe of Speed Age Hurt by Car," ''Daily News (New York)'', 15 Sep 1935. Helene Mullins died in 1991, in Manhattan, at the age of 92.

References

External links

Helene Mullins Archives at Yale - https://archives.yale.edu/agents/people/96767
Pacific Radio Archives recorded interview - https://www.pacificaradioarchives.org/recording/bb3895 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Helene 20th-century American poets American women poets 1899 births 1991 deaths