Mary Catherine Gunning Colum ( Maguire; 13 June 1884 – 22 October 1957) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
and author, who also co-founded a literary journal.
Biography
Mary Catherine Gunning Maguire was born in
Collooney
Collooney or Coloony () is a town in County Sligo, Ireland.
Toponymy
Collooney is thought to derive from . Reverend Terrence O'Rorke has previously also suggested ''Culmaine'', as Collooney is designated this way in such works as ''the annals ...
,
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...
, the daughter of Charles Maguire and Catherine (Gunning) Maguire. Her mother died in 1895, leaving her to be reared by her grandmother, also named Catherine, in
Ballisodare
Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River.
History
Toponymy
The Ox Mountains () are ...
, County Sligo. She attended boarding school at St Louis' Convent,
Monaghan
Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony.
The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...
.
Educated at
Royal University, Trinity she was founder of the Twilight Literary Society which led her to meet
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
. She regularly attended the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
and was a frequent visitor amongst the salons, readings and debates there.
After graduation in 1909, she taught with
Louise Gavan Duffy at
St Ita's (companion school to
Patrick Pearse
Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...
's
St Enda's School). She was active with
Thomas MacDonagh
Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh ( ga, Tomás Anéislis Mac Donnchadha; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising o ...
and others in nationalist and cultural causes. She co-founded ''The Irish Review'' (1911–14) with David Houston, Thomas MacDonagh, et al. and she and her husband, Padraic Colum, edited the magazine for some months of its four-year career.
She was encouraged by Yeats to specialise in French literary criticism and to translate
Paul Claudel
Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism.
Early lif ...
.
She married
Padraic Colum
Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival.
Early life
Col ...
in July 1912, and they moved to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 1914, living occasionally in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. In middle age she was encouraged to return to writing, and became established as a literary generalist in American journals, including ''Poetry'',
''Scribner's'', ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', ''
New York Times Review of Books
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'', and ''
The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers:
United States Daily California
*''Oakland Tribune''
* ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo)
*'' San Gabriel Valley Tribune''
Indiana
*''Kokomo Tribune''
*'' Peru Tribune''
* ''The Trib ...
''.
She associated with
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
in Paris, and discouraged him from duping enquirers about the origins of the interior monologue in the example of Edouard Dujardin. She accepted Joyce's very ill daughter Lucia for a week in their Paris flat at the height of her 'hebephrenic' attack, while herself preparing for an operation in May 1932. She served as the literary editor of ''The Forum'' magazine from 1933–41, commenced teaching comparative literature with Padraic at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1941.
She rebutted
Oliver St. John Gogarty
Oliver Joseph St. John Gogarty (17 August 1878 – 22 September 1957) was an Irish poet, author, otolaryngologist, athlete, politician, and well-known conversationalist. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel ...
's intemperate remarks about Joyce in the ''
Saturday Review of Literature
''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, ess ...
'' in 1941.
A work of reminiscence "Our Friend James Joyce (1959)", written by herself and her husband, each writing various chapters, and assembled posthumously by Padraic Colum, sensitively recalls the writer; her letters are held in Scribner's Archive,
Princeton University Library
Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...
, while a collection of her papers is held at
SUNY.
She was the author of several books, including the autobiographical ''Life and the Dream'', and ''From These Roots'', a collection of her criticism.
Works
* ''From These Roots: The Ideas that have Made Modern Literature'' (1937)
* ''Life and the Dream'' (1947)
* ''Our Friend James Joyce'' (1958, with Padraic Colum), memoir
References
Sources
*''Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature'', edited by
Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft, New York, The H. W. Wilson Company, 1942.
*''Modern Irish Writers: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook'', edited by Alexander G. Gonzalez, Greenwood Press, 1997.
External links
Biography and bibliography University of Pennsylvania Libraries.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colum, Mary
1884 births
1957 deaths
Irish emigrants (before 1923) to the United States
Irish literary critics
Irish women literary critics
People from Collooney
20th-century Irish women writers
Cumann na mBan members
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Writers from County Sligo