James Henry Cousins (22 July 1873 – 20 February 1956) was an Irish-Indian writer, playwright, actor, critic, editor, teacher and poet. He used several

pseudonyms A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...

, including Mac Oisín and the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

name Jayaram.

Life

Cousins was born at 29, Cavour Street in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Ireland, the descendant of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

refugees. His father was James Cousins, a mariner, and Susan, née Davis. Largely self-educated at night schools, he worked some time as a clerk and became private secretary and speechwriter to

Sir Daniel Dixon, 1st Baronet Sir Daniel Dixon, 1st Baronet, (28 March 1844 – 10 March 1907) was an Irish businessman and politician. Early life Dixon was born on 28 March 1844 the son of Thomas and Sarah Dixon of Larne, County Antrim County Antrim (named after t ...

, the Lord Mayor of

. In 1897, he moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

where he became part of a literary circle which included

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a cen ...

and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

. He is believed to have served as a model for the Little Chandler character in Joyce's short story collection

Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were writ ...

. Cousins was significantly influenced by Russell's ability to reconcile

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

with a pragmatic approach to social reforms and by the teachings of

Madame Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international foll ...

. He had a lifelong interest in the paranormal and acted as reporter in several experiments carried out by William Fletcher Barrett, Professor of physics at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

and one of the founders of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

. Cousins worked as a teacher in

The High School, Dublin The High School is a 12–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Church of Ireland, Independent school, independent secondary school in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1870 at Harcourt Street before moving to Rathgar in 1971. It amal ...

. Cousins produced several books of poetry whilst in Ireland as well as acting in the first production of Cathleen Ní Houlihan (under the stage name of H. Sproule) with the famous Irish revolutionary and beauty

Maud Gonne Maud Gonne MacBride (, born Edith Maud Gonne); 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. She was of Anglo-Irish descent and was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of people evict ...

in the title role. His plays were produced in the first years of the twentieth century in the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

, the most famous being "the Racing Lug". After a dispute with

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

, who objected to 'too much Cousins' the Irish National Theatre movement split with two-thirds of the actors and writers siding with Cousins against Yeats. He also wrote widely on the subject of

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

and in 1915 travelled to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

with the voyage fees paid for by

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

the President of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

. He spent most of the rest of his life in the sub-continent, apart from a year as Professor of English Literature at

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

in Tokyo and another lecturing in New York. He formally converted to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

in 1937. At the core of Cousins's engagement with Indian culture was a firm belief in the "shared sensibilities between Celtic and Oriental peoples". Whilst in India he became friendly with many key Indian personalities including the poet

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, the Indian classical dancer

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Sastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...

, the painter Abdur Rahman Chughtai and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. He gave the William Miller Memorial Lectures at Madras in 1938 on "The Idea, Expression, and Fulfillment of Beauty," and he was the person who brought change into the life of poetry of the Great Renowned Kannada Poet and Writer

Kuvempu Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He wa ...

. He wrote a joint autobiography with his wife Margaret Elizabeth Cousins (formerly Gretta Gillespie), a

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

and one of the co-founders of the

Irish Women's Franchise League The Irish Women's Franchise League was an organisation for women's suffrage which was set up in Dublin in November 1908. Its founder members included Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, Margaret Cousins, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington and James H. Cousins. Tho ...

and

All India Women's Conference The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) is a non-governmental organisation ( NGO) based in Delhi. It was founded in 1927 by Margaret Cousins in order to improve educational efforts for women and children and has expanded its scope to also tack ...

(AIWC). In his ''The Future Poetry''

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian Modern yoga gurus, yogi, maharishi, and Indian nationalist. He also edited the newspaper Bande Mataram (publication), ''Bande Mataram''. Aurobindo st ...

has acclaimed Cousins' ''New Ways in English Literature'' as "literary criticism which is of the first order, at once discerning and suggestive, criticism which forces us both to see and think." He has also acknowledged that he learnt to intuit deeper, being alerted by Cousins' criticisms of his poems. In 1920 Cousins came to Pondicherry to meet the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. The appreciation is palpable in the following citations: From ''The Future Poetry'' by

"It will be more fruitful to take the main substance of the matter for which the body of Mr.Cousins' criticism gives a good material. Taking the impression it creates for a starting-point and the trend of English poetry for our main text, but casting our view farther back into the past, we may try to sound what the future has to give us through the medium of the poetic mind and its power for creation and interpretation. The issues of recent activity are still doubtful and it would be rash to make any confident prediction; but there is one possibility which this book strongly suggests and which it is at least interesting and may be fruitful to search and consider. That possibility is the discovery of a closer approximation to what we might call the mantra in poetry that rhythmic speech which, as the Veda puts it, rises at once from the heart of the seer and from the distant home of the Truth, — the discovery of the word, the divine movement, the form of thought proper to the reality which, as Mr. Cousins excellently says, " ''lies in the apprehension of a something stable behind the instability of word and deed, something that is reflection of the fundamental passion of humanity for something beyond itself, something that is a dim foreshadowing of the divine urge which is prompting all creation to unfold itself and to rise out of its limitations towards its Godlike possibilities. Poetry in the past has done that in moments of supreme elevation; in the future there seems to be some chance of its making it a more conscious aim and steadfast endeavour."

Vegetarianism

Cousins and wife Margaret were interested in anti-vivisection,

theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

.Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah. (1999). ''Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Yorkin Publications. p. 160. They were both strict vegetarians and in 1905 founded the Irish Vegetarian Society. Cousins lectured on "The Cruelties and Diseases Connected with Flesh-Eating" which was awarded first prize at the

Vegetarian Federal Union The Vegetarian Federal Union (VFU) was a British vegetarianism umbrella organisation founded in 1889, which operated until 1911. History In July 1889, a group of individuals from the London Vegetarian Society met and drew up plans to form what ...

in June 1907.

Works

*POEMS BY JAMES H. COUSINS :The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse. Ed. Nicholson & Lee. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1917. :Padraic Colum (1881–1972). :Anthology of Irish Verse. 1922. *BIBLIOGRAPHY :The Legend of the Blemished King and Other Poems (1897) :The Quest (1906) :The Bell-Branch (1908) :The Wisdom of the West (1912) :Etain the Beloved and Other Poems (1912) :The Bases of Theosophy (1913) :The Renaissance in India (1918) :The King's Wife (1919) :Sea-Change (1920) :The Cultural Unity of Asia (1922) :Work and Worship: Essays on Culture and Creative Art (1922) :The New Japan: Impressions and Reflections (with 74 illustrations) (1923) :Heathen Essays (1925) :A Tibetan Banner (1926) :Above the Rainbow and Other Poems (1926) :A Wandering Harp: Selected Poems (1932) :A Bardic Pilgrimage (1934) :Collected Poems (1940) :The Faith Of The Artist. (1941) :The Work Promethean (1970) *BIOGRAPHIES/CRITICISM :A Wandering Harp: James H. Cousins, a Study. C.N. Mangala. (B.R. Publishing, 1995). :James Henry Cousins: A Study of His Works in the Light of Theosophical Movement. Dilip Kumar Chatterjee. (South Asia Books, 1994). :James Cousins. William A. Dumbleton. (Twayne Publishing, 1980). *RELATED LINKS :James H. Cousins: Poems – An index of poems.

/ref>

References

External links

* * *
The Future Poetry
by

Renaissance in India
by

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, James 1873 births 1956 deaths Indian anti-vivisectionists Irish emigrants to India Converts to Hinduism Irish Hindus Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish male poets Irish occult writers Irish people of French descent Irish suffragists Irish Theosophists Irish vegetarianism activists Poets from British India Writers from Chennai Indian people of Irish descent Naturalised citizens of India Indian poets Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male poets Indian suffragists Indian Theosophists Academic staff of Keio University Sri Aurobindo Writers from Belfast 19th-century Irish poets 20th-century Irish poets 19th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish male writers 19th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian writers 19th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish anti-vivisectionists

Life

Vegetarianism

Works

See also

References

External links