Padraic Colum

Padraic Colum (born Dec. 8, 1881, Longford, County Longford, Ire.—died Jan. 11, 1972, Enfield, Conn., U.S.) was an Irish-born American poet whose lyrics capture the traditions and folklore of rural Ireland.

Influenced by the literary activity of the Celtic revival centred in Dublin at the turn of the century, Colum published the collection of poetry Wild Earth (1907). He cofounded The Irish Review in 1911, then three years later settled permanently in the United States. Colum’s varied literary output includes volumes of poetry, e.g., Dramatic Legends (1922) and Creatures (1927); plays, such as Broken Soil (first performed 1903) and The Land (1905); novels; anthologies of folklore; and children’s books. The reminiscence Our Friend James Joyce (1959) was written with his wife Mary (1887–1957), a well-known literary critic.