Mary Colum facts for kids

Mary Catherine Gunning Colum (born Maguire; June 13, 1884 – October 22, 1957) was an important Irish writer and literary critic. A literary critic is someone who studies and writes about books and literature. She also helped to start a literary journal, which is like a magazine for writers.

Mary Colum's Life Story

Early Life and Education

Mary Catherine Gunning Maguire was born in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland. Her parents were Charles and Catherine Maguire. Sadly, her mother passed away in 1895. After that, Mary was raised by her grandmother, who was also named Catherine, in Ballisodare, County Sligo. She went to a boarding school called St Louis' Convent in Monaghan.

Mary studied at the Royal University, Trinity. While there, she started a group called the Twilight Literary Society. This group helped her meet famous writers like W. B. Yeats. She often visited the Abbey Theatre and attended many literary gatherings and debates.

Starting Her Career

After finishing her studies in 1909, Mary taught at St Ita's. This was a school connected to Patrick Pearse's St Enda's School. She was very involved in groups that supported Irish independence and culture. She worked with people like Thomas MacDonagh on these causes.

Mary also helped create The Irish Review, a literary magazine, which ran from 1911 to 1914. She and her husband, Padraic Colum, even edited the magazine for a few months. W. B. Yeats encouraged her to focus on French literature and to translate works by the French writer Paul Claudel.

Life in America and Writing

Mary married Padraic Colum in July 1912. In 1914, they moved to New York, in the United States. They also spent time living in London and Paris. As she got older, Mary was encouraged to write more. She became a well-known literary writer for many American magazines. These included Poetry, Scribner's, The Nation, and The New Republic. She also wrote for the New York Times Review of Books and The Tribune.

Mary met the famous writer James Joyce in Paris. She advised him about his writing style. In May 1932, Mary and Padraic even cared for Joyce's daughter, Lucia, for a week when she was very unwell. This was while Mary was getting ready for an operation herself. From 1933 to 1941, Mary was the literary editor for The Forum magazine. In 1941, she and Padraic began teaching comparative literature at Columbia University.

Mary also defended James Joyce in 1941. She wrote a response to some harsh comments made about him by Oliver St. John Gogarty in the Saturday Review of Literature.

Later Life and Legacy

After Mary passed away, a book called Our Friend James Joyce was published in 1959. Mary and her husband, Padraic Colum, both wrote parts of this book. Padraic put it together after her death. The book shares sensitive memories of the writer. Mary Colum's letters are kept at Princeton University Library. A collection of her other papers is held at SUNY.

Mary Colum wrote several books during her life. These include her autobiography, Life and the Dream. An autobiography is a book someone writes about their own life. She also wrote From These Roots, which was a collection of her literary criticisms.

Books by Mary Colum

• From These Roots: The Ideas that have Made Modern Literature (1937)
• Life and the Dream (1947)
• Our Friend James Joyce (1958, with Padraic Colum), a memoir about James Joyce