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Sam Hanna Bell (16 October 1909 – 9 February 1990) was a Scottish-born Northern Irish
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
,
short story writer
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
,
playwright, and
broadcaster.
Bell was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
to
Ulster Scots parents. Following the sudden death of his father in 1918, he was brought at the age of seven to live near Raffery in the
Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"[PlaceNames N ...](_blank)
area of
County Down. He lived with his mother and two brothers in a cottage with no electricity or running water. This was the setting of his acclaimed novel of Ulster rural life, ''December Bride'' (1951). He moved to
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
in 1921, where he worked at a variety of manual jobs before securing a post with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1945. He was a co-founder of the left-leaning literary journal, ''Lagan'', in 1943.
His first collection of short stories, ''Summer Loanen and other stories'', was published in 1943. His novels include ''December Bride'' (1951), ''The Hollow Ball'' (1961), ''A Man Flourishing'' (1973) and ''Across the Narrow Sea'' (1987).
Bell was recruited to the BBC, in 1946, along with fellow writer, W R Rodgers, by poet and radio producer,
Louis MacNeice. (Sean MacMahon, 1999, ''Sam Hannah Bell: a biography, Belfast'': The Blackstaff Press, page 44). Some of his work as a radio producer was highly innovative. ''This is Northern Ireland, An Ulster Journey'' (1949) is a classic radio feature incorporating actuality, poetry, music and narration. in later work Hanna Bell incorporated the voices of 'ordinary people' in his attempt to paint a picture of Ulster as rooted in the lives and traditions of its people. His collaboration with W R Rodgers, ''The Return Room'' (1955) is one of the most important post-war Irish radio features and shows the influence of
Dylan Thomas on Rodgers the poet.
Along with his BBC colleague John Boyd, the essayist (and
anti-Partition activist)
Denis Ireland
Denis Liddell Ireland (29 July 1894 – 23 September 1974) was an Irish essayist and political activist. A northern Protestant, after service in the First World War he embraced the cause of Irish independence. He also advanced the social credit id ...
, actors
Joseph Tomelty
Joseph Tomelty (5 March 1911 – 7 June 1995) was an Irish actor, playwright, novelist, short-story writer and theatre manager. He worked in film, television, radio and on the stage. starring in Sam Thompson's 1960 play ''Over the Bridge''.
...
and
J. G. Devlin, poets
John Hewitt and
Robert Greacen
Robert Greacen (1920–2008) was an Irish poet and member of Aosdána. Born in Derry, Ireland, on 24 October 1920, he was educated at Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. He died on 13 April 2008 in Dublin, Ireland.
Greacen's ...
, and the Rev Arthur Agnew, in the 1940s Bell was one of an intellectual set, "the club of ten"
Linen Hall Library
The Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more g ...
members that used to meet weekly next to the library in Campbell's cafe.
In 1977, he was honoured with an
MBE in recognition of his contribution to the cultural life of Northern Ireland.
''December Bride'' was made into an acclaimed film in 1990.
Reviewing the film, ''
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' columnist and literary critic
Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is a polemicist, literary editor, journalist and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. O'Toole was drama critic for the '' New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and ...
said it was "not just a remarkable artistic achievement, but also a remarkable political one...restoring a richness and complexity to a history that has been deliberately narrowed".
In April 1999, ''December Bride'' was selected by award-winning novelist and critic
Colm Tóibín
Colm Tóibín (, approximately ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet.
His first novel, '' The South'', was published in 1990. '' The Blackwater Lightship'' was shortlis ...
and publisher, writer and critic Dame
Carmen Callil, for inclusion in ''The Modern Library: The 200 Best Novels in English Since 1950'' (Picador).
Sam Hanna Bell died at 190 King's Road, Knock, Belfast, aged 80, shortly before the premiere of the film of ''December Bride''.
On 15 October 2009, the eve of what would have been Bell's centenary, a
blue plaque was unveiled by Northern Ireland Culture Minister
Nelson McCausland
Nelson McCausland (born 15 August 1951) is a former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician from Northern Ireland, who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Belfast from 2003 until he lost his seat in 2017. and ...
on the Belfast house where Bell had written ''December Bride''. (Such plaques are erected to commemorate and honour notable people.)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Sam Hanna
1909 births
1990 deaths
People from Glasgow
People from County Down
People from Northern Ireland of Scottish descent
20th-century novelists from Northern Ireland
20th-century dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland
Broadcasters from Northern Ireland
Members of the Order of the British Empire