Joan Ure
Encyclopedia
Joan Ure was the pen name of Elizabeth Thoms Clark (22 June 1918 – 1978), a Scottish
poet
and playwright
. She was born Elizabeth (Betty) Thomson Carswell on 22 June 1918 in Wallsend
, Tyneside
, of Scottish parents who moved to Glasgow
. She had a daughter, Frances, by Jack Clark, a businessman. Her sister Joan provided the first half of her pen-name.
Having been born in England made her self-consciously Scots, and she adopted an ironic refrain throughout her public writing: "Scottish, more or less" and "as Scots as I am". In correspondence she wrote "I could say I am an Englishman, and spite 'em all."
Among her work to achieve a professional production, I See Myself as This Young Girl, an exploration of a mother-daughter relationship, was directed by Michael Meacham at the close theatre Club, Glasgow, in 1967. It demonstrated her lyrical gifts.
She wrote her first play, Cendrillon, in French
, for the 4th year school class to perform.
Death by suicide was one of her themes, summed up in the poem, In Memoriam 1971, published in Scottish International.
Her poem Signal at Red, written 1964, is addressed to her correspondent, John Cairns, and alludes to Ian Hamilton Finlay
, with whom she had put on plays at the Falcon Theatre in 1962, hers being Punctuated Rhythms. He is also the disappointing lover referred to in her short story, Midsummer's Eve, published in Words 6 in 1978. She claims he was almost the death of her, though she doesn't specify how & there's nothing in the correspondence, 1963–1971, to suggest she ever proposed leaving her husband for him.
Another poem, "In Memoriam" 1971, deals with another of her themes, death, by suicide, primarily incited by that of her sister, Joan's.
One of her best plays is the revue Nothing May Come of It which incorporates song and dance. She characterises people she knew including her correspondent as the lead actress in Nothing May Come of It as well as Puck in Seven Characters out of the Dream.
Her correspondence with John Cairns provides a framework for understanding her life and work and is shortly to be published by Ki Publishing as CORRESPONDENCE.
, and Ada F Kay
were founder members of the Scottish Society of Playwrights
.
's Canongate Wall Project to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Holyrood Parliament:
A country makes the artists it deserves / As it makes governments / Our artists shriek in paranoiac discords / When they are not just havering / You hope they do not feel they speak for you.
, Italy
, teaches several English Literature modules, using Joan Ure's plays Qualcosa anche per Cordelia (Something in it for Cordelia), and Sette Personaggi Venuti dal sogno (Seven Characters out of a dream).
The University of Parma
, Italy, also uses two plays by Joan Ure in their English Literature programme: Come una ragazzina (1968) and Riprendi la tua costola ! (1974) are available in the Italian translation by Panozzo Editore who describe her works as "confronting the themes of the condition and emancipation of women .... with the irony which characterises the whole work of Joan Ure".
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. She was born Elizabeth (Betty) Thomson Carswell on 22 June 1918 in Wallsend
Wallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
, Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
, of Scottish parents who moved to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. She had a daughter, Frances, by Jack Clark, a businessman. Her sister Joan provided the first half of her pen-name.
Being a Scot
Joan chose the pen-name Ure, because it sounded more Scottish to her.Having been born in England made her self-consciously Scots, and she adopted an ironic refrain throughout her public writing: "Scottish, more or less" and "as Scots as I am". In correspondence she wrote "I could say I am an Englishman, and spite 'em all."
Work
Joan Ure write short stories and poems as well as short plays, but she made her mark with her work for the theatre. She never wrote a full-length play.Among her work to achieve a professional production, I See Myself as This Young Girl, an exploration of a mother-daughter relationship, was directed by Michael Meacham at the close theatre Club, Glasgow, in 1967. It demonstrated her lyrical gifts.
She wrote her first play, Cendrillon, in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, for the 4th year school class to perform.
Death by suicide was one of her themes, summed up in the poem, In Memoriam 1971, published in Scottish International.
Her poem Signal at Red, written 1964, is addressed to her correspondent, John Cairns, and alludes to Ian Hamilton Finlay
Ian Hamilton Finlay
Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE, was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener.-Biography:Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas of Scottish parents. He was educated in Scotland at Dollar Academy. At the age of 13, with the outbreak of World War II, he was evacuated to family in the countryside...
, with whom she had put on plays at the Falcon Theatre in 1962, hers being Punctuated Rhythms. He is also the disappointing lover referred to in her short story, Midsummer's Eve, published in Words 6 in 1978. She claims he was almost the death of her, though she doesn't specify how & there's nothing in the correspondence, 1963–1971, to suggest she ever proposed leaving her husband for him.
Another poem, "In Memoriam" 1971, deals with another of her themes, death, by suicide, primarily incited by that of her sister, Joan's.
One of her best plays is the revue Nothing May Come of It which incorporates song and dance. She characterises people she knew including her correspondent as the lead actress in Nothing May Come of It as well as Puck in Seven Characters out of the Dream.
Her correspondence with John Cairns provides a framework for understanding her life and work and is shortly to be published by Ki Publishing as CORRESPONDENCE.
Scottish Society of Playwrights
Joan Ure, Ena Lamont StewartEna Lamont Stewart
Ena Lamont Stewart was a Scottish playwright and the daughter of a Church of Scotland minister whose family was originally from Canada and had settled in Glasgow. She worked as the librarian of Baillie's Reference Library.Ena married the Scottish actor Jack Stewart and had a son, William...
, and Ada F Kay
Ada F Kay
Ada F Kay, also known as A.J. Stewart, is a British writer with a particularly complex personal history. She grew up in Lancashire but lived much of her adult life in Scotland.-Work:...
were founder members of the Scottish Society of Playwrights
Scottish Society of Playwrights
The Scottish Society of Playwrights is a professional member’s organisation representing theatre playwrights in Scotland. It is affiliated to the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and party to the Theatrical Management Association playwright’s agreement....
.
Acclaim in Scotland
A poem by Joan Ure was suggested by members of the public as one of the runners-up for the Scottish ParliamentScottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
's Canongate Wall Project to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Holyrood Parliament:
A country makes the artists it deserves / As it makes governments / Our artists shriek in paranoiac discords / When they are not just havering / You hope they do not feel they speak for you.
Acclaim abroad
The University of BolognaUniversity of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, teaches several English Literature modules, using Joan Ure's plays Qualcosa anche per Cordelia (Something in it for Cordelia), and Sette Personaggi Venuti dal sogno (Seven Characters out of a dream).
The University of Parma
University of Parma
The University of Parma is one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in the 11th century. It is organised in twelve faculties. The University of Parma has currently about 30,000 students.-History:...
, Italy, also uses two plays by Joan Ure in their English Literature programme: Come una ragazzina (1968) and Riprendi la tua costola ! (1974) are available in the Italian translation by Panozzo Editore who describe her works as "confronting the themes of the condition and emancipation of women .... with the irony which characterises the whole work of Joan Ure".
- http://www.diplingue.unipr.it/Ricerca%20e%20pubblicazioni/Pagine%20personali/Angeletti.html
- http://www.ibs.it/code/9788874721337/ure-joan/come-una-ragazzina.html
External links
- Oxford Biography index number 101060220 for Clark [née Carswell, Elizabeth Thomson (pseud. Joan Ure)
- International Journal of Scottish Theatre, Vol.3 no.1, 'Is it not possible to have a Poem made out of Theatre?' - An assessment of the dramas and dramaturgy of Joan Ure
- http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:5V1vTdt--HMJ:etudesecossaises.revues.org/index157.html%3Ffile%3D1+Joan+Ure&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgfy4S6jQez4yH9Cd0YNpB-WVMa_WNhAo1bq3JjdYFoUkZlRdEE55LDG-N3JpIvcJjR6kEGFzZIvvZqOsZ_NQ3JFm8zQ2MiUZK23FO_BI8D5xPsH-fS6HGdJfaD1PFLAC5050Nu&sig=AHIEtbRSf3Xxujb0cJxd_6VKXvp2bsZT8gScottish Women Playwrights against Zero Visibility, by Ksenija Horvat, Google Docs]
- Open Library: Joan Ure, Five Short Plays
- Text of Joan Ure's play "Something in it for Cordelia"
- Scottish Review, August 5th, 2010: Kenneth Roy, 'Land of the forgotten sex'
- Ki Publishing Blog on forthcoming publication of "Correspondence" (letters between Ure and John Cairns)
- Five Songs by Joan Ure
- Joan Ure songs: lyrics