Gamel Woolsey
Encyclopedia
Gamel Woolsey was an American
poet and novelist.
, as Elizabeth (Elsa) Gammell Woolsey, but in later years took her middle name, which she shortened to "Gamel" (a Norse word meaning "old").
Her father was plantation
owner William Walter Woolsey (July 18, 1842 - 1909). The Woolsey branch of the New England Dwight family
had influence in the law, the church and education.
He had first married Catherine Buckingham Convers, daughter of Charles Cleveland Convers
, but she died in 1888.
Her aunt, Sarah Chauncey Woolsey
– better known by her pen name, Susan Coolidge – wrote the popular Katy
series and other children's fiction.
Her uncles and cousins included three presidents of Yale University
.
Her mother was her father's second wife, Bessie Gammell, daughter of William A. Gammell. Her mother traced her maternal ancestry to William Washington
.
After her father's death in 1910 they moved to Charleston
, where she went to day school. Despite weak health following an attack of tuberculosis
in 1915, she left home for New York
in about 1921, hoping to be an actress or a writer. Her first known published poem appeared in the New York Evening Post in 1922. The following year she met and married Rex Hunter, a writer and journalist
from New Zealand
, but they separated after four years. In 1927, while living in Patchin Place
, Greenwich Village
, she met the writer John Cowper Powys
and, through him, his brother Llewelyn and his wife, Alyse Gregory
. She and Alyse became friends for life, while with Llewelyn she had a passionate and painful love affair.
She left New York for England in 1929, settling in Dorset
to be near Llewelyn, where she came to know the whole Powys family and their circle. Parting from Llewelyn in 1930, she married the historian
and writer Gerald Brenan
in a private ceremony, and they lived together, mainly in Spain, until her death. In 1933 she began an enduring friendship with Bertrand Russell
, who wanted to marry her.
Woolsey, primarily a poet, published very little in her lifetime: Middle Earth, a collection of 36 poems, came out in 1931, Death's Other Kingdom in 1939 and Spanish Fairy Stories in 1944. Her Collected Poems have been published since her death. Patterns on the Sand (unpublished) recalls her South Carolina childhood; One Way of Love, accepted by Gollancz in 1930 but suppressed at the last minute because of its sexual explicitness, was published by Virago Press
in 1987. She died in Spain in 1968 of cancer
, and is buried at the English Cemetery, Malaga
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet and novelist.
Life
Woolsey was born on the Breeze Hill plantation in Aiken, South CarolinaAiken, South Carolina
Aiken is a city in and the county seat of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. With Augusta, Georgia, it is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is home to the University of South...
, as Elizabeth (Elsa) Gammell Woolsey, but in later years took her middle name, which she shortened to "Gamel" (a Norse word meaning "old").
Her father was plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
owner William Walter Woolsey (July 18, 1842 - 1909). The Woolsey branch of the New England Dwight family
New England Dwight family
The New England Dwight family had many members who were military leaders, educators, jurists, authors, businessmen and clergymen.Around 1634 John Dwight came with his wife Hannah, daughter Hannah, and sons Timothy Dwight and John Dwight, from Dedham, Essex, England to North America where the town...
had influence in the law, the church and education.
He had first married Catherine Buckingham Convers, daughter of Charles Cleveland Convers
Charles Cleveland Convers
Charles Cleveland Convers was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was Speaker of the Ohio Senate for two years and a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court for a short time.-Biography:...
, but she died in 1888.
Her aunt, Sarah Chauncey Woolsey
Sarah Chauncey Woolsey
Sarah Chauncey Woolsey was an American children's author who wrote under the pen name Susan Coolidge.-Background:...
– better known by her pen name, Susan Coolidge – wrote the popular Katy
What Katy Did
What Katy Did is a children's book written by Susan Coolidge, the pen name of Sarah Chauncey Woolsey, which was published in 1872. It follows the adventures of a twelve-year-old American girl, Katy Carr, and her family who live in the fictional lakeside Ohio town of Burnet in the 1860s...
series and other children's fiction.
Her uncles and cousins included three presidents of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Her mother was her father's second wife, Bessie Gammell, daughter of William A. Gammell. Her mother traced her maternal ancestry to William Washington
William Washington
William Washington , was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, who held a final rank of Brigadier General in the newly created United States after the war...
.
After her father's death in 1910 they moved to Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where she went to day school. Despite weak health following an attack of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1915, she left home for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in about 1921, hoping to be an actress or a writer. Her first known published poem appeared in the New York Evening Post in 1922. The following year she met and married Rex Hunter, a writer and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, but they separated after four years. In 1927, while living in Patchin Place
Patchin Place
Patchin Place is a gated cul-de-sac located off of 10th Street between Greenwich Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
, Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, she met the writer John Cowper Powys
John Cowper Powys
-Biography:Powys was born in Shirley, Derbyshire, in 1872, the son of the Reverend Charles Francis Powys , who was vicar of Montacute, Somerset for thirty-two years, and Mary Cowper Johnson, a descendent of the poet William Cowper. He came from a family of eleven children, many of whom were also...
and, through him, his brother Llewelyn and his wife, Alyse Gregory
Alyse Gregory
Alyse Gregory was an American suffragist and writer.Her father was a doctor in Nowalk. She showed musical talent at an early age, was sent to Paris, France, to receive a musical education when she was fifteen years old, and continued her study of music on her return to the United States...
. She and Alyse became friends for life, while with Llewelyn she had a passionate and painful love affair.
She left New York for England in 1929, settling in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
to be near Llewelyn, where she came to know the whole Powys family and their circle. Parting from Llewelyn in 1930, she married the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and writer Gerald Brenan
Gerald Brenan
Edward FitzGerald "Gerald" Brenan, CBE was a British writer and Hispanist who spent much of his life in Spain.He is best known for The Spanish Labyrinth, a historical work on the background to the Spanish Civil War, and for South from Granada: Seven Years in an Andalusian Village...
in a private ceremony, and they lived together, mainly in Spain, until her death. In 1933 she began an enduring friendship with Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, who wanted to marry her.
Woolsey, primarily a poet, published very little in her lifetime: Middle Earth, a collection of 36 poems, came out in 1931, Death's Other Kingdom in 1939 and Spanish Fairy Stories in 1944. Her Collected Poems have been published since her death. Patterns on the Sand (unpublished) recalls her South Carolina childhood; One Way of Love, accepted by Gollancz in 1930 but suppressed at the last minute because of its sexual explicitness, was published by Virago Press
Virago Press
Virago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
in 1987. She died in Spain in 1968 of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and is buried at the English Cemetery, Malaga
English Cemetery, Malaga
Anglican Cemetery, Cemetery of St. George or English Cemetery is the oldest non-Roman Catholic Christian cemetery established on mainland Spain.-History and description:...
.
External links
- Eland Books Specialists in travel literature and publishers of Death's Other Kingdom