Ella Young
Encyclopedia
Ella Young was an Irish
poet and Celtic
mythologist active in the Gaelic
and Celtic Revival
literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born in Ireland
, Young was an author of poetry and children's books. She emigrated from Ireland to the United States
in 1925 as a temporary visitor and lived in California. For five years, she gave speaking tours on Celtic mythology at American universities, and in 1931, she was involved in a publicized immigration controversy when she attempted to become a citizen.
Young held a chair in Irish Myth and Lore at the University of California, Berkeley
for seven years. At Berkeley, she was known for her colorful and lively persona, giving lectures while wearing the purple robes of a Druid
, expounding on legendary creatures such as fairies and elves, and praising the benefits of talking to trees
. Her encyclopedic knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject of Celtic mythology attracted and influenced many of her friends and won her a wide audience among writers and artists in California, including poet Robinson Jeffers
, philosopher Alan Watts
, photographer Ansel Adams
, and composer Harry Partch
, who set several of her poems to music.
Later in life, she served as the "godmother" and inspiration for the Dunites, a group of artists living in the dunes of San Luis Obispo
. She retired to the town of Oceano
where she died at the age of 88.
, she grew up in Dublin in a Protestant family and attended the Royal University
. She later received her master's degree at Trinity College, Dublin
. Her interest in Theosophy
led her to become an early member of the Hermetic Society
, the Dublin branch of the Theosophical Society
, where she met writer Kenneth Morris. Her acquaintance with "Æ" (George William Russell
) resulted in becoming one of his select group of protégés, known as the "singing birds." Young's nationalist sentiments and her friendship with Patrick Pearse
, gave her a supporting role in the Easter Rising
; as a member of Cumann na mBan
, she smuggled rifles and other supplies in support of Republican forces. Young's first volume of verse, titled simply Poems, was published in 1906, and her first work of Irish folklore, The Coming of Lugh, was published in 1909. She became friends with William Butler Yeats
' erstwhile flame Maud Gonne
, and Gonne illustrated Young's first book of stories, Celtic Wonder Tales (1910). Although Young continued to write poetry, it was for her redactions of traditional Irish legends that she became best known.
to meet Mary Colum
(Molly) and her husband, Irish poet Padraic Colum
. In 1922, Celtic studies scholar William Whittingham Lyman Jr
. left the University of California, Berkeley
. Young was hired to fill the post in 1924 and she immigrated to the United States in 1925. Her love for folklore got her in trouble at the immigrant inspection station when she came through Ellis Island
. According to Kevin Starr Young "had been briefly detained at Ellis Island as a probable mental case when the authorities learned that she believed in the existence of fairies, elves, and pixies." At the time, people suspected to have a mental illness were denied admission to the U.S.
While based in California, Young began speaking at various universities in 1925, first lecturing at Columbia University
and then Smith College
, Vassar College
and Mills College
. According to Norm Hammond,
Young lived in Sausalito
in the mid-1920s. She was the James D. Phelan Lecturer in Irish Myth and Lore at the University of California, Berkeley for approximately a decade.
, became a Newbery Honor Book (runner-up). During this period, she occasionally visited Halcyon, California
, a Theosophical colony near San Luis Obispo. While living in a cabin behind John Varian's house, Young finished writing The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales
, a 1930 Newbery Honor Book. In Halcyon, her eclectic circle of friends included Ansel Adams
, whom she had first met in either 1928 or 1929 in San Francisco through their mutual friend, Albert M. Bender. She traveled with Adams and his wife, Virginia, to Santa Fe, New Mexico
in 1929, spending time with friends and visiting artists at the Taos art colony
, and staying with Mabel Dodge Luhan
. In Taos
, Young also visited with Georgia O'Keeffe
. A photograph of Young and Virginia Adams appears in Ansel Adams's autobiography.
Adams recalls that Young and fellow writer Mary Hunter Austin
did not get along very well together, but that conservationist Dorothy Erskine was one of Young's good friends.
In 1932, The Unicorn with Silver Shoes was released, illustrated by Robert Lawson
. Young published her autobiography, Flowering Dusk: Things Remembered Accurately and Inaccurately in 1945. Later, she found particular affinity in the California Redwoods After battling cancer, Young was found dead in her home in Oceano
on July 23, 1956. She was cremated, and in October, her ashes were scattered in a redwood grove. A grave marker is located in the Santa Maria Cemetery District, Santa Maria, California
. Young left the bulk of her estate to the Save-the-Redwoods League
.
at the University of California, Los Angeles
.
Celtic Wonder Tales, The Wonder-Smith and His Son, and The Tangle-Coated Horse were republished in 1991 by Floris Books and Anthroposophic Press.
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 and Celtic
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...
mythologist active in the Gaelic
Gaelic Revival
The Gaelic revival was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language and Irish Gaelic culture...
and Celtic Revival
Celtic Revival
Celtic Revival covers a variety of movements and trends, mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries, which drew on the traditions of Celtic literature and Celtic art, or in fact more often what art historians call Insular art...
literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born 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...
, Young was an author of poetry and children's books. She emigrated from Ireland to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1925 as a temporary visitor and lived in California. For five years, she gave speaking tours on Celtic mythology at American universities, and in 1931, she was involved in a publicized immigration controversy when she attempted to become a citizen.
Young held a chair in Irish Myth and Lore at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
for seven years. At Berkeley, she was known for her colorful and lively persona, giving lectures while wearing the purple robes of a Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
, expounding on legendary creatures such as fairies and elves, and praising the benefits of talking to trees
Tree worship
Tree worship refers to the tendency of many societies throughout history to worship or otherwise mythologize trees. Trees have played an important role in many of the world's mythologies and religions, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages...
. Her encyclopedic knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject of Celtic mythology attracted and influenced many of her friends and won her a wide audience among writers and artists in California, including poet Robinson Jeffers
Robinson Jeffers
John Robinson Jeffers was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Most of Jeffers' poetry was written in classic narrative and epic form, but today he is also known for his short verse, and considered an icon of the environmental movement.-Life:Jeffers was born in...
, philosopher Alan Watts
Alan Watts
Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York...
, photographer Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
, and composer Harry Partch
Harry Partch
Harry Partch was an American composer and instrument creator. He was one of the first twentieth-century composers to work extensively and systematically with microtonal scales, writing much of his music for custom-made instruments that he built himself, tuned in 11-limit just intonation.-Early...
, who set several of her poems to music.
Later in life, she served as the "godmother" and inspiration for the Dunites, a group of artists living in the dunes of San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
. She retired to the town of Oceano
Océano
Océano is the third studio album by Argentine singer Pablo Ruiz. It was released in 1989.- Track listing :# Océano# La Chica De La Tele# Soñando En La Lluvia# Mi Corazón Se Fue# Este Mundo# Quiero Tu Amor# Hawái# Ámame Pronto# Hey Valentina...
where she died at the age of 88.
Early life and work in Ireland
Born in Fenagh, County AntrimCounty Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, she grew up in Dublin in a Protestant family and attended the Royal University
Royal University
Royal University may mean:* Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas* Royal University of Bhutan* Royal University of Ireland...
. She later received her master's degree at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. Her interest in Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
led her to become an early member of the Hermetic Society
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
, the Dublin branch of the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
, where she met writer Kenneth Morris. Her acquaintance with "Æ" (George William Russell
George William Russell
George William Russell who wrote under the pseudonym Æ , was an Irish nationalist, writer, editor, critic, poet, and painter. He was also a mystical writer, and centre of a group of followers of theosophy in Dublin, for many years.-Organisor:Russell was born in Lurgan, County Armagh...
) resulted in becoming one of his select group of protégés, known as the "singing birds." Young's nationalist sentiments and her friendship with Patrick Pearse
Patrick Pearse
Patrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916...
, gave her a supporting role in the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
; as a member of Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914 as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers...
, she smuggled rifles and other supplies in support of Republican forces. Young's first volume of verse, titled simply Poems, was published in 1906, and her first work of Irish folklore, The Coming of Lugh, was published in 1909. She became friends with William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
' erstwhile flame Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars...
, and Gonne illustrated Young's first book of stories, Celtic Wonder Tales (1910). Although Young continued to write poetry, it was for her redactions of traditional Irish legends that she became best known.
Immigration to the United States
Young first came to the United States in the 1920s to visit friends, traveling to ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
to meet Mary Colum
Mary Colum
Mary Colum was an Irish literary critic and author.Mary Gunning Maguire was born in Collooney, County Sligo, daughter of Charles Maguire, Constable and Catherine Gunning who died in 1895 to be reared by her grandmother Catherine in Ballisodare, Co. Sligo. She attended boarding school in St...
(Molly) and her husband, Irish poet Padraic Colum
Padraic Colum
Padraic Colum was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Celtic Revival.-Early life:...
. In 1922, Celtic studies scholar William Whittingham Lyman Jr
William Whittingham Lyman Jr
William Whittingham Lyman Jr, also known as Jack Lyman, was an American writer and academic, primarily in the field of Celtic studies.-Life and work:...
. left the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Young was hired to fill the post in 1924 and she immigrated to the United States in 1925. Her love for folklore got her in trouble at the immigrant inspection station when she came through Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
. According to Kevin Starr Young "had been briefly detained at Ellis Island as a probable mental case when the authorities learned that she believed in the existence of fairies, elves, and pixies." At the time, people suspected to have a mental illness were denied admission to the U.S.
While based in California, Young began speaking at various universities in 1925, first lecturing at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and then Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
and Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
. According to Norm Hammond,
Wherever she went, she was received enthusiastically, especially by the young people of America. They loved this white-haired lady with the eyes of a seer that appeared to be lighted from within. She spoke with a melodious voice; when she spoke everyone listened. She had a thin, wispy quality that made her appear as the apparition of the very spirits she described. Indeed, her skin had an almost translucent quality.
Young lived in Sausalito
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
in the mid-1920s. She was the James D. Phelan Lecturer in Irish Myth and Lore at the University of California, Berkeley for approximately a decade.
Later life
In 1928, Young's book The Wonder-Smith and His Son, illustrated by Boris ArtzybasheffBoris Artzybasheff
Boris Artzybasheff was an American illustrator active in the United States, notable for his strongly worked and often surreal designs....
, became a Newbery Honor Book (runner-up). During this period, she occasionally visited Halcyon, California
Halcyon, California
Halcyon, California is an unincorporated community of approximately 125 acres in San Luis Obispo County, California, located just beyond the southern border of the city of Arroyo Grande...
, a Theosophical colony near San Luis Obispo. While living in a cabin behind John Varian's house, Young finished writing The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales
The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales
The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales: Episodes from the Fionn Saga is a children's book by Ella Young, a collection of Irish legends from the Fenian Cycle. These are tales about the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill and his band of warriors, the Fianna. Illustrated by Vera Bock, the book was first...
, a 1930 Newbery Honor Book. In Halcyon, her eclectic circle of friends included Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
, whom she had first met in either 1928 or 1929 in San Francisco through their mutual friend, Albert M. Bender. She traveled with Adams and his wife, Virginia, to Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
in 1929, spending time with friends and visiting artists at the Taos art colony
Taos art colony
The Taos art colony is an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico by artists attracted by the rich culture of the Taos Pueblo and beautiful landscape. Hispanic craftsmanship of furniture, tin work and more played a role in creating a multicultural tradition of art work in the area.In 1898 a visit...
, and staying with Mabel Dodge Luhan
Mabel Dodge Luhan
Mabel Evans Dodge Sterne Luhan , née Ganson was a wealthy American patron of the arts. She is particularly associated with the Taos art colony.-Early life:...
. In Taos
Taos
Taos can meanPlaces*Taos Pueblo, a Native American pueblo, Tua-tah*Taos dialect, a dialect of the Tiwa language*Taos County, New Mexico, United States*Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico...
, Young also visited with Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
. A photograph of Young and Virginia Adams appears in Ansel Adams's autobiography.
Adams recalls that Young and fellow writer Mary Hunter Austin
Mary Hunter Austin
Mary Hunter Austin was an American writer. One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her classic The Land of Little Rain describes the fauna, flora and people – as well as evoking the mysticism and spirituality – of the region between the High Sierra and the Mojave Desert of...
did not get along very well together, but that conservationist Dorothy Erskine was one of Young's good friends.
In 1932, The Unicorn with Silver Shoes was released, illustrated by Robert Lawson
Robert Lawson (author)
Robert Lawson was an American author and illustrator of children's books. During World War I, he also served as a camouflage artist.-Background:Born in New York City, Lawson spent his early life in Montclair, New Jersey...
. Young published her autobiography, Flowering Dusk: Things Remembered Accurately and Inaccurately in 1945. Later, she found particular affinity in the California Redwoods After battling cancer, Young was found dead in her home in Oceano
Oceano, California
Oceano is a census-designated place in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 7,286 at the 2010 census, up from 7,260 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Oceano is located at ....
on July 23, 1956. She was cremated, and in October, her ashes were scattered in a redwood grove. A grave marker is located in the Santa Maria Cemetery District, Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria, California
Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...
. Young left the bulk of her estate to the Save-the-Redwoods League
Save-the-Redwoods League
The Save the Redwoods League is an organization dedicated to the protection of the remaining Coast Redwood trees in the state of California. It was founded in 1918 by Frederick Russell Burnham, Madison Grant, John C. Merriam, and Henry Fairfield Osborn....
.
Legacy
Writer Rose Murphy released a biography of Ella Young in 2008. The South County Historical Society of San Luis Obispo County, California is active in the research and preservation of the history of the Dunites and Ella Young. An archive of her papers is currently held by the Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special CollectionsCharles E. Young Research Library
The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries at UCLA. It is named after the university's former chancellor of 29 years. Unlike the College Library which is geared towards undergraduates, this library is meant mainly for faculty and graduate students who wish to conduct...
at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
.
Celtic Wonder Tales, The Wonder-Smith and His Son, and The Tangle-Coated Horse were republished in 1991 by Floris Books and Anthroposophic Press.
Selected publications
- Poems (1906)
- The Coming of Lugh (1909)
- Celtic Wonder Tales (1910)
- The Rose of Heaven (1920)
- The Weird of Fionavar (1922)
- The Wonder-Smith and His Son (1927)
- The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other TalesThe Tangle-Coated Horse and Other TalesThe Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales: Episodes from the Fionn Saga is a children's book by Ella Young, a collection of Irish legends from the Fenian Cycle. These are tales about the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill and his band of warriors, the Fianna. Illustrated by Vera Bock, the book was first...
(1929) - To the Little Princess (1930)
- The Unicorn with Silver Shoes (1932)
- Marzilian (1938)
- Flowering Dusk (1945)
- Seed of the Pomegranate (1949)
- Smoke Myrrh (1950)