Paul Smith (Irish writer)
Encyclopedia
Paul Smith was an Irish writer
and playwright
.
at 16 years of age. In Ireland he worked as a costume maker and designer in the Abbey and Gate Theatres in Dublin. He went to London
in the 50s and then on to Sweden, where he started writing. He then moved to America and soon after to Australia, where he settled in Melbourne for some years. While there he wrote The Countrywoman (1962), The Stubborn Season (1962), and ’Stravanga (1963). He returned to Dublin in 1972 where he remained until he died on 11 January 1997.
He was awarded the American Irish Foundation Literary Award in 1978, and was a member of Aosdána.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
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...
.
Biography
Smith was born near Charlemont Street in Dublin, the son of a wheelwright. He became involved with the Gate TheatreGate 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...
at 16 years of age. In Ireland he worked as a costume maker and designer in the Abbey and Gate Theatres in Dublin. He went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the 50s and then on to Sweden, where he started writing. He then moved to America and soon after to Australia, where he settled in Melbourne for some years. While there he wrote The Countrywoman (1962), The Stubborn Season (1962), and ’Stravanga (1963). He returned to Dublin in 1972 where he remained until he died on 11 January 1997.
He was awarded the American Irish Foundation Literary Award in 1978, and was a member of Aosdána.
Works
- Esther’s Altar (NY: Abelard-Schuman 1959), later reprinted as Come Trailing Blood (London: Quartet Books 1977)
- The Stubborn Season (London: Heinemann 1961)
- The Countrywoman (London: Heinemann 1962)
- ’Stravanga (London: Heinemann 1963)
- Summer Sang in Me
- Esther’s Altar, performed in Los Angeles (1978)