James Joyce and Padraic Colum

James Joyce and Padraic Colum

A  hundred years ago saw the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses. So what better time for IBBY Ireland to remind everyone that Joyce also produced two children’s stories in letters to his grandson Stephen James Joyce. Although written in private correspondence for fun and with affection, both narratives experiment with language and reflect his extraordinary writing style. One of these tales—The Cat and the Devil—has been published as picture books a number of times in different countries. Another, The Cats of Copenhagen, is mostly limited to academic studies. These are delightful stories, comparing well with works by James Stephens and Padraic Colum, contemporaries of Joyce who wrote literary fairy tales for children.

Padraic Colum was known in Ireland as a poet and dramatist, and Mary Colum, his wife, as a respected writer and critic. Both were friends with James and Nora Joyce, promoted Joyce’s work, cared for Lucia Joyce when she was ill, and assisted Joyce while he wrote Finnegans Wake. In America, however, Colum was known for his children’s books. To maintain his native tongue, he translated from Irish to English traditional tales heard in childhood, weaving them into a children’s novel, The King of Ireland’s Son (illustrated by Willy Pogany). More children’s folktale anthologies followed, with three awarded retrospective citations for the Newbery Honor. Colum’s essay, Story Telling: New & Old, a comparison of traditional storytelling with storytelling by public librarians, continues to influence storytellers today.

Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin have a forthcoming exhibition on Padraic Colum’s life and work. Stay tuned for further information on this celebration of a writer who pioneered Irish folklore and myth as fantasy for children.