John Coulter (12 February 1888,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

– 1 December 1980,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

) was an Irish Canadian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and broadcaster.

Life

He graduated from

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

. He taught school in

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

until 1919. He moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1920, where he wrote for BBC radio. In 1924 he became editor of ''The Ulster Review'', and in 1927, managing editor of '' The New Adelphi''. He moved to

in 1936, where he wrote for CBC radio, and he married Olive Clare Primrose, a poet and short story writer. They had two daughters. His papers are held at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical ...

Works

Autobiography

* ''In My Day: Memoirs'', Willowdale, ON: Hounslow Press, 1980

Novels

* ''Turf Smoke'', Ryerson Press, 1945

Biography

* ''Churchill'', Ryerson Press, 1944

Plays

* ''Conochar'', Broadcast BBC, 1934 * ''The Folks In Brickfield Street,''

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

, Dublin 1937 * ''The House In The Quiet Glen,'' Margaret Eaton Hall, Toronto, 1937 (Awarded Best Canadian Play at the

Dominion Drama Festival The Dominion Drama Festival was an organisation in Canada that sought to promote amateur theatre across the country. It lasted, in one form or another, from 1932 until 1978. Founding The Dominion Drama Festival (DDF) was devised in 1932 as a wa ...

, 1938.) * ''Holy Manhattan'', Arts and Letters Club, Toronto, 1940 * ''Pigs'', Hart House Theatre, 1940 * ''Christmas Comes But Once A Year'', Arts and Letters Club, Toronto 1942 * ''Transit Through Fire'', University of Toronto at Convocation Hall, 1942 * ''Mr Oblomoff'', 1946 * ''The Drums Are Out'', Abbey Theatre, Dublin 1948 * ''Riel'', New Play Society, Toronto, 1950 * ''Sleep My Pretty One'', rehearsed reading St James Theatre, London, 1951 * ''Dierdre'', Macmillan Theatre, Toronto, 1965 * ''The Crime Of Louis Riel,'' Dominion Drama Festival, London, Ontario 1966 * ''The Trial Of Louis Riel,'' Saskatchewan House, Regina, 1967 ** ''Riel: a play: in two parts'', Cromlech Press, 1972 * ''A Capful Of Pennies'', Central Library Theatre, Toronto 1967 * ''The drums are out: a play in three acts'', De Paul University, 1971 * ''While I Live'', 1971 * ''Francois Bigot: A Rediscovery in Dramatic Form of the Fall of Quebec'', Hounslow Press, Toronto, 1978 * ''Living Together'', Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto 1980 * ''Mr Kean Of Drury Lane'', 1980

Opera librettas

* ''Transit Through Venus'', 1942 * ''Deirdre of the Sorrows'', 1946

References

External links

"John Coulter", ''Literary Encyclopedia''John Coulter entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coulter, John Writers from Belfast 1888 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Alumni of the University of Manchester Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers Northern Ireland emigrants to Canada