Willis Steell
Encyclopedia
Willis Steell was an American journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and translator.
His first novel was the well-received ‘Isidra: The Patriot Daughter of Mexico’ – a Mexican story of the French intervention (1888) which was compared with some of the work of Bret Harte
(1836-1902).
Three letters were published in the New York Times on 2, 5, and 16 April 1898 in answer to a correspondent's enquiry as to who this writer was. In that of 5 April, a corresponent identified only by the initials J.J.E. wrote of Steell that, ‘His work is forceful and original in prose, while such verse by him as I have seen impressed me like genuine poetry. Mr Steel is a newspaper man and a successful one, for I think we all have to admit that the newspapers swallow up a great deal of our best talent – at least for a time.’ He had actually written, amongst a mass of journalism by this time, a number of fictional and dramatic works: ‘The Morning after the Play: A Comedy in One Act’ (1889), ‘Mortal Lips’ (1890) a story of contemporary life in Harlem, ‘In Seville, & Three Toledo Days’ – a series of charming Spanish sketches (1894), and ‘The Fifth Commandment A Play in One Act’ (1898). He had also written poetry, and a long poem about Christopher Columbus
called ‘The Death of The Discoverer’ appeared in book form in Philadelphia in 1892.
Typical of Steell's work was his liking for one-act dramas, a good example of which was ‘A Juliet of the People’ produced at the Madison Square Theatre 1901, and which reviewed in the New York Times, 20 January 1900:
'A Juliet of the People, a one-act drama by Willis Steell, setting forth in simple and natural action and with a touch of poetical feeling, the incidents of a tragedy in humble life, much in the manner of the stories of the operas of the latest Italian school, had a trial performance last week at an exhibition matinée of a school of acting. Some of them abide in the ruined home of the Capulets, transformed by the cruel irony of fate and time, into a tenement for the poor. A Juliet loves a Romeo and a jealous rival slays him. Mr Steell has not been heard from hitherto as a playwright, though othervplays are spoken of now as theatrical possibilities of the future.’
Along with Edward E. Rose, he wrote another play - completed August/September 1900 - ‘The Battle of the Strong’ based on the novel by Gilbert Parker, which was produced by Daniel V. Arthur in Chicago in the autumn of 1900, and transferred to New York in January 1901, with Marie Burroughs in the principal role. With Clyde Fitch
(1865-1909) he dramatized a story called ‘Wolfville: A Drama of The South West’ by Alfred Henry Lewis in October 1905 at the Broad Street Theatre in Philadelphia.
Other dramatic works include:
‘The Firm of Cunningham’ (1905);
‘Brother Dave: A Play in One Act’ (Boston, 1909);
‘The Prospector: A Comedy in Three Acts’ (1912);
‘A Bride from Home: A Vaudevile Sketch in One Act’ (1912);
‘Faro Nell: A Vaudeville Sketch in One Act’ (1912);
‘Sniping: A Drama in One Act’ (1915);
‘A Mountain of Gold’;
‘Anna: A Play’;
‘A Prince of Lorraine: Drama in Five Acts’.
In 1909 he published ‘Walt Whitman’s Early Life on Long Island’. In March and April 1914 he held a series of ‘Conferences’ at the Waldorf Hotel in New York on Prosper Mérimée
, Guy de Maupassant
, and Maurice Maeterlinck
.
at which time he interviewed Gertrude Stein
in 1924 after she published her long gestated novel The Making of Americans
. The reason he moved to Paris
was to be near his daughter Susan Steell, who had won the first scholarship for American girls to study singing in Paris with the French mezzo-soprano Blanche Marchesi
that was established in 1923 by the opera singer Marie Jeritza. Her father commissioned a portrait of her about 1923 from the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury
, which was exhibited in 1925 and of which American Art News, April 11, 1925, said that it ‘...shows Mr. Ury at his most discerning.’ Susan (often later called Suzanne) was to enter Broadway
, and became one of the close friends of Katharine Hepburn
at the time of her first Hollywood success. Susan died in 1959 at 53.
In 1924 Steell translated Jérôme Tharaud
and Jean Tharaud’s Long Walk of Samba Diouf, an important piece of literature on negro culture, and in 1928 published a biography ‘Benjamin Franklin of Paris 1776-1785'.
Literary Career
He seems to have begun his literary career in New York as a journalist on the New York Tribune from 1887 to 1888, and soon became the New York correspondent for the Albany Press, St. Paul Dispatch, Chicago Times, and Nashville American, and soon was head of a syndicate of Southern papers.His first novel was the well-received ‘Isidra: The Patriot Daughter of Mexico’ – a Mexican story of the French intervention (1888) which was compared with some of the work of Bret Harte
Bret Harte
Francis Bret Harte was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.- Life and career :...
(1836-1902).
Three letters were published in the New York Times on 2, 5, and 16 April 1898 in answer to a correspondent's enquiry as to who this writer was. In that of 5 April, a corresponent identified only by the initials J.J.E. wrote of Steell that, ‘His work is forceful and original in prose, while such verse by him as I have seen impressed me like genuine poetry. Mr Steel is a newspaper man and a successful one, for I think we all have to admit that the newspapers swallow up a great deal of our best talent – at least for a time.’ He had actually written, amongst a mass of journalism by this time, a number of fictional and dramatic works: ‘The Morning after the Play: A Comedy in One Act’ (1889), ‘Mortal Lips’ (1890) a story of contemporary life in Harlem, ‘In Seville, & Three Toledo Days’ – a series of charming Spanish sketches (1894), and ‘The Fifth Commandment A Play in One Act’ (1898). He had also written poetry, and a long poem about Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
called ‘The Death of The Discoverer’ appeared in book form in Philadelphia in 1892.
Typical of Steell's work was his liking for one-act dramas, a good example of which was ‘A Juliet of the People’ produced at the Madison Square Theatre 1901, and which reviewed in the New York Times, 20 January 1900:
'A Juliet of the People, a one-act drama by Willis Steell, setting forth in simple and natural action and with a touch of poetical feeling, the incidents of a tragedy in humble life, much in the manner of the stories of the operas of the latest Italian school, had a trial performance last week at an exhibition matinée of a school of acting. Some of them abide in the ruined home of the Capulets, transformed by the cruel irony of fate and time, into a tenement for the poor. A Juliet loves a Romeo and a jealous rival slays him. Mr Steell has not been heard from hitherto as a playwright, though othervplays are spoken of now as theatrical possibilities of the future.’
Along with Edward E. Rose, he wrote another play - completed August/September 1900 - ‘The Battle of the Strong’ based on the novel by Gilbert Parker, which was produced by Daniel V. Arthur in Chicago in the autumn of 1900, and transferred to New York in January 1901, with Marie Burroughs in the principal role. With Clyde Fitch
Clyde Fitch
Clyde Fitch was an American dramatist.-Biography:Born William Clyde Fitch at Elmira, New York, he wrote over 60 plays, 36 of them original, which varied from social comedies and farces to melodrama and historical dramas.As the only child to live to adulthood, his father, Captain William G...
(1865-1909) he dramatized a story called ‘Wolfville: A Drama of The South West’ by Alfred Henry Lewis in October 1905 at the Broad Street Theatre in Philadelphia.
Other dramatic works include:
‘The Firm of Cunningham’ (1905);
‘Brother Dave: A Play in One Act’ (Boston, 1909);
‘The Prospector: A Comedy in Three Acts’ (1912);
‘A Bride from Home: A Vaudevile Sketch in One Act’ (1912);
‘Faro Nell: A Vaudeville Sketch in One Act’ (1912);
‘Sniping: A Drama in One Act’ (1915);
‘A Mountain of Gold’;
‘Anna: A Play’;
‘A Prince of Lorraine: Drama in Five Acts’.
In 1909 he published ‘Walt Whitman’s Early Life on Long Island’. In March and April 1914 he held a series of ‘Conferences’ at the Waldorf Hotel in New York on Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. He is perhaps best known for his novella Carmen, which became the basis of Bizet's opera Carmen.-Life:...
, Guy de Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents....
, and Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
.
Paris Correspondent of the New York Herald
In 1920s he was the Paris correspondent of the New York HeraldNew York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
at which time he interviewed Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
in 1924 after she published her long gestated novel The Making of Americans
The Making of Americans
The Making of Americans: Being a History of a Family's Progress is a modernist novel by Gertrude Stein. The novel traces the genealogy, history, and psychological development of members of the fictional Hersland and Dehning families...
. The reason he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
was to be near his daughter Susan Steell, who had won the first scholarship for American girls to study singing in Paris with the French mezzo-soprano Blanche Marchesi
Blanche Marchesi
Blanche Marchesi was a French mezzo-soprano and voice teacher best known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner...
that was established in 1923 by the opera singer Marie Jeritza. Her father commissioned a portrait of her about 1923 from the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Muller-Ury was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and impressionistic painter of roses and still life.-Heritage and early life in Switzerland:...
, which was exhibited in 1925 and of which American Art News, April 11, 1925, said that it ‘...shows Mr. Ury at his most discerning.’ Susan (often later called Suzanne) was to enter Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, and became one of the close friends of Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
at the time of her first Hollywood success. Susan died in 1959 at 53.
In 1924 Steell translated Jérôme Tharaud
Jérôme Tharaud
Jérôme Tharaud was a French writer. He was elected the fifteenth occupant of Académie française seat 31 in 1938.-References:...
and Jean Tharaud’s Long Walk of Samba Diouf, an important piece of literature on negro culture, and in 1928 published a biography ‘Benjamin Franklin of Paris 1776-1785'.