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Padraic Colum

パドレイグ・コラム

Padraic Colum

Aliases: Patrick Columb / Patrick Colum

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1881-12-08 (Columcille (workhouse), County Longford, Ireland)
Died
1972-01-11 (Enfield, Connecticut, United States) age 90
Nationality
Irish
Languages
English, Irish (Gaelic)
Residence History
Glasthule (near Dublin) → Donnybrook, Dublin → Howth → Paris, Nice (1930–1933) → New York, United States → Enfield, Connecticut, United States (place of death)

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, children's author, collector of folklore, screenwriter, editor, teacher
Active Years
1902-1958
Affiliations
Gaelic League, Abbey Theatre (early board member), Columbia University (teaching/affiliation), City College of New York (teaching/affiliation)
Memberships
Gaelic League
Influenced By
W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, Æ (George William Russell), James Joyce (friend and collaborator)
Influenced
writers of children's literature and retold folktales

Education

University College Dublin
Country: Ireland
Awarded a scholarship; specific degree details not clear

Awards

Regina Medal
1961
Organization: Catholic Library Association
Result: 受賞
Prize from Cumann na nGaedheal (drama)
1902
Work: The Saxon Shillin'
Organization: Cumann na nGaedheal
Result: 受賞(演劇)
Newbery Honor (retrospective citation)
Organization: American Library Association
Result: 栄誉賞(追認)

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Saxon Shillin'

1902 play

An anti-enlistment play reflecting Colum's early political and dramatic engagement.

nationalismanti-enlistment

The King of Ireland's Son

1916 children's literature / folktale retelling

An extended retelling of an Irish folktale for children, illustrated in collaboration with Willy Pogany.

folkloreheroic talesmagic

The Children's Homer (The Adventures of Odysseus)

1918 children's retelling of classical literature

A child-friendly retelling of Homeric epics, presenting adventures like those of Odysseus in accessible form.

classical mythadventureeducational adaptation

The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles

1921 children's retelling of myths

A simplified retelling of the Golden Fleece legend and related heroic tales for young readers.

mythheroic tales

The Big Tree of Bunlahy: Stories of My Own Countryside

1933 children's stories / local tales

A collection of childhood and countryside tales based on Colum's own upbringing, illustrated by Jack Yeats.

local colorfolklorechildhood

The Flying Swans

1957 novel

One of Colum's later novels, containing mythic and allegorical elements.

mythic elementsallegory

Our Friend James Joyce

1958 memoir / biography

A memoir co-authored with his wife Mary, recounting friendship and collaborations with James Joyce.

reminiscenceliterary historyfriendship

Hansel and Gretel (screenplay)

1954 screenplay / film

Screenplay for the 1954 stop-motion film 'Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy'; Colum's only known screenplay.

folktaleoperatic fantasy
Adaptations
  • [film (stop-motion)] Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy (1954)

Bibliography

  • The Saxon Shillin' (1902)
  • Broken Sail / The Fiddlers' House (1903)
  • The Land (1905)
  • Wild Earth (1907)
  • The King of Ireland's Son (1916)
  • The Children's Homer (1918)
  • The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles (1921)
  • Castle Conquer (1923)
  • The Big Tree of Bunlahy (1933)
  • The Flying Swans (1957)
  • Our Friend James Joyce (1958)

Adaptations

  • Hansel and Gretel (1954 film; screenplay)
  • Padraic Colum Reading His Irish Tales and Poems (1965 album)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
style associated with the Irish Literary Revivalfaithful retellings of folk and oral traditionssimplified retellings of classical literature for children
Recurring Motifs
Irish folklore and mythsea and coastal settingschildhood and nostalgiaheroic tales and magic

Legacy

Padraic Colum was a significant figure of the Irish Literary Revival, known especially for his retellings of folktales and classics for children. His papers are held in several archives in the US and Ireland, and he left a lasting influence on children's literature and folklore studies.

Academic Societies

  • Gaelic League

Archives

  • Binghamton University Libraries (Padraic and Mary Colum Collection)
  • Dublin City University (Padraic Colum Collection)
  • Harry Ransom Center (Padraic Colum Collection)
  • University of Delaware (Padraic Colum Collection)
  • University of Pennsylvania (Padraic Colum Plays Collection)

In Popular Culture

  • Works frequently anthologized in children's literature and folktale collections
  • Noted for having claimed authorship of words for the song 'She Moved Through the Fair'

Quotes

  • The last name is the same as the word 'column.' In my first name, the first 'a' has the sound of 'au.'
    Source: The Literary Digest (on pronunciation) (1936)

Trivia

  • Born Patrick Columb; later known as Padraic Colum.
  • In 1965 he sold notebooks, manuscripts and letters from his apartments in New York and Dublin to Binghamton University Libraries.
  • Three of his children's books received retrospective Newbery Honor citations (specific years vary by source).
  • Wrote the screenplay for the 1954 stop-motion film 'Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy' — his only known screenplay.
  • Married to Mary Colum; they co-authored 'Our Friend James Joyce'.