Blanaid Salkeld
Encyclopedia
Blanaid Salkeld was an Irish
poet, dramatist, and actor, whose well-known literary salon was attended by, among others, Patrick Kavanagh
and Flann O'Brien
. Her son, Cecil ffrench Salkeld was one of the leading Irish artists of the day; her granddaughter Beatrice married Brendan Behan
.
, in what was then India
but is now Bangladesh
, and grew up in Ireland
. Salkeld's father, a doctor in the Indian Medical Service, was a friend of Rabindranath Tagore
and also introduced her to the poetry of Keats when she was six. When she was in Dublin and her father in India, she regularly included her poems in letters to him. He had two volumes of these printed privately in Calcutta. She married in 1902 and spent the next six years in India with her husband, who worked in the Indian Civil Service.
as an actor and once played the lead role in George Fitzmaurice's three act play The Country Dressmaker. She started writing verse plays in the 1930s, and one of these, Scarecrow Over the Corn was staged in 1941 at the Gate Theatre
with stage sets designed by Louis le Brocquy
.
.
. She reviewed a wide range of books, but focused especially on contemporary poetry (for instance, in perceptive reviews of Anna Akhmatova
and Pound's Pisan Cantos). She also used her review writing to promote an interest in poetry by women, especially Irish women.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
poet, dramatist, and actor, whose well-known literary salon was attended by, among others, Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh was an Irish poet and novelist. Regarded as one of the foremost poets of the 20th century, his best known works include the novel Tarry Flynn and the poems Raglan Road and The Great Hunger...
and Flann O'Brien
Flann O'Brien
Brian O'Nolan was an Irish novelist, playwright and satirist regarded as a key figure in postmodern literature. Best known for novels such as At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman and An Béal Bocht and many satirical columns in The Irish Times Brian O'Nolan (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966) was...
. Her son, Cecil ffrench Salkeld was one of the leading Irish artists of the day; her granddaughter Beatrice married Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
.
Early life
Salkeld was born in ChittagongChittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
, in what was then India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
but is now Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, and grew up in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Salkeld's father, a doctor in the Indian Medical Service, was a friend of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
and also introduced her to the poetry of Keats when she was six. When she was in Dublin and her father in India, she regularly included her poems in letters to him. He had two volumes of these printed privately in Calcutta. She married in 1902 and spent the next six years in India with her husband, who worked in the Indian Civil Service.
Theatre
On returning to Ireland, Salkeld joined the Abbey PlayersAbbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
as an actor and once played the lead role in George Fitzmaurice's three act play The Country Dressmaker. She started writing verse plays in the 1930s, and one of these, Scarecrow Over the Corn was staged in 1941 at the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
with stage sets designed by Louis le Brocquy
Louis le Brocquy
Louis le Brocquy is an Irish painter born in Dublin. His work has received many accolades in a career that spans seventy years of creative practice...
.
Poetry
Salkeld published five books of poetry, Hello, Eternity (Elkin Mathews 1933), A Dubliner (Dublin: Gayfield 1942), The Fox’s Covert (JM Dent 1935), the engine is left running (Gayfield 1937), and Experiment In Error (Aldington, Kent: Hand & Flower Press 1955). The first of these was reviewed favourably by Samuel BeckettSamuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
.
Reviews
Salkeld contributed numerous book reviews to The Dublin MagazineThe Dublin Magazine
The Dublin Magazine was an Irish literary journal founded and edited by the poet Seamus O'Sullivan and published in Dublin by New Square Publications....
. She reviewed a wide range of books, but focused especially on contemporary poetry (for instance, in perceptive reviews of Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...
and Pound's Pisan Cantos). She also used her review writing to promote an interest in poetry by women, especially Irish women.