Susan Langstaff Mitchell (1866 – 1926) was an Irish

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...

 writer and poet, known for her satirical verse.

Biography

She was born in Carrick-on-Shannon

Carrick-on-Shannon

Carrick-on-Shannon is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is also the smallest main county town in the country . It is situated on a strategic crossing point of the River Shannon and is the largest town in the county. The population of the town was 3,163 in 2006. It is in the barony...

, County Leitrim

County Leitrim

County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...

, one of eight children of Michael Thomas Mitchell. Her father was manager of the Provincial Bank there. He died when she was six years old and she was sent to Dublin to be educated, while her mother, Kate (née Cullen, a prominent family from Manorhamilton), moved to Sligo. She lived in Dublin with two comfortably-off aunts.

In 1900 she travelled to London for treatment of a hearing problem and stayed with John B. Yeats

John Butler Yeats

John Butler Yeats was an Irish artist and the father of William Butler Yeats, Lily Yeats, Lollie Yeats and Jack B. Yeats. He is probably best known for his portrait of the young William Butler Yeats which is one of a number of his portraits of Irishmen and women in the Yeats museum in the National...

 and his family. After her return to Dublin she worked as a journalist and became assistant editor of the Irish Homestead

Irish Homestead

The Irish Homestead was the weekly publication of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society . It was founded in 1895 by Horace Plunkett....

, under George 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...

. She contributed essays, reviews and drama notes and became acquainted 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...

, 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:...

, George Moore

George Moore (novelist)

George Augustus Moore was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist. Moore came from a Roman Catholic landed family who lived at Moore Hall in Carra, County Mayo. He originally wanted to be a painter, and studied art in Paris during the 1870s...

 and others. She lived with her sister Jane (Jeanny), an actress, and mother in Rathgar

Rathgar

Rathgar is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, lying about 3 kilometres south of the city centre.-Amenities:Rathgar is largely a quiet suburb with good amenities, including primary and secondary schools, nursing homes, child-care and sports facilities, and good public transport to the city centre...

. Her mother dictated her memoirs to her, which were later published.

She published her first book of poems in 1908. In 1926 she became sub-editor of the Irish Statesman

Irish Statesman

The Irish Statesman was a weekly journal promoting the views of the Irish Dominion League. It ran from 27 June 1919 to June 1920, edited by Warre B. Wells and with contributions from W. B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and George William Russell...

, again under George Russell.

External links