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Mona Douglas MBE RBV (18 September 1898 – 8 October 1987) was a Manx cultural activist, folklorist, poet, novelist and journalist. She is recognised as the main driving force behind the modern revival of Manx culture and is acknowledged as the most influential Manx poet of the 20th Century,〔'Literature in English since 1900' by Martin Faragher, in ''A New History of the Isle of Man, Volume V: The Modern Period, 1830 – 1999'', Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2000, p. 337〕 but she is best known for her often controversial work to preserve and revive traditional Manx folk music and dance. She was involved in a great number of initiatives to revive interest and activity in Manx culture, including societies, classes, publications and youth groups. The most notable and successful of these was Yn Chruinnaght. ==Childhood== Constance Mona Douglas (Connie) was born on 18 September 1898 at 49 Allerton Road, Much Woolton, Merseyside.〔('Douglas, (Constance) Mona (1898-1987), folklorist' ) by Fenella Bazin in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (accessed 25 October 2013)〕 She was the daughter of Manx parents, Frank Beardman Douglas (1863-1943) and Frances Mona (née Holmes - born London, Ontario, Canada of Manx parents) (1873-1953).〔'Douglas, Constance Mona, MBE, RBV' by Fenella Bazin in ''New Manx Worthies'', ed. Dollin Kelly, Douglas: Manx National Heritage, 2006, pp. 157 – 160〕 Her parents had left the Isle of Man in order to find work in England, eventually setting up a bakery and confectioners in Birkenhead.〔Ellan Sheeant'': Ireland and Mona Douglas' Mannin' by Breesha Maddrell, ''Béaloideas'' 75 (2007), pp. 24 – 47〕 Because of ill-health Douglas was sent to live with her maternal grandparents, Ellen "Nell" Quayle and Patrick "Pat" Holmes (as Thomas in the 1901 Census ), when only a matter of months old.〔〔('Of Demolition and Reconstruction: A Comparative Reading of Manx Cultural Revivals' ) by Breesha Maddrell, ''E-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies'' 2 (2006) pp. 133 – 163〕 Her grandmother would influence her greatly through her knowledge of Manx folklore, song and dance. Her childhood was spent in the vicinity of Lezayre, and later Ballaragh near Laxey,〔('Who is Mona Douglas?' (3) 'I was brought up first in Lezayre' ) ed. Stephen Miller, ''Manx Notes'' 117 (2010)〕 where she received a very free and informal upbringing: "I never went to school and I used to just go round Ballaragh with the farmers and down to Laxey and went out in the boats with the fishermen, and wandering about pretty well as I liked."〔('Who is Mona Douglas?' (6) 'Beginnings (2)' ) ed. Stephen Miller, ''Manx Notes'' 120 (2010)〕 Music was a central part of Douglas' upbringing, most notably through the musical evenings which took place at her parents' house when she visited them. Both of her parents were musical, with her father playing the violin and flute and her mother the piano and singing, as well as their both being members of a choral society.〔('Who is Mona Douglas?' (5) 'Beginnings' ) ed. Stephen Miller, ''Manx Notes'' 119 (2010)〕 On Sunday evenings, from when Douglas was six years old, a number of other cultured people from the community would gather at their house "for poetry readings, discussion and music."〔 Through this she gained a knowledge of "the great English and American poets" and the music of Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Puccini and Verdi. Some Manx music also featured:〔
Douglas received a copy of Grimms' Fairy Tales aged four, obtained a public library ticket aged five and received her first collection of poetry aged seven (Robert Louis Stevenson's ''A Child's Garden of Verses''). She took up writing poetry at this age, commenting later that "soon I began to spend my pennies on pencils and exercise-books instead of sweets and ice-cream."〔 During the holiday periods, Douglas would visit her aunt and uncle in Douglas. At the age of nine her visit coincided with the Eisteddfod of 1908, where she submitted her poem, ''Douglas Bay'', into the competition. When it won first prize, she came to the attention of Sophia Morrison, W. Walter Gill and William Cubbon, who she would later describe as "the strongest influences in determining the trend of my subsequent literary work. () I have no adequate words to express my grateful consciousness of the help and guidance given to me in my formative years by these three good friends."〔 Sophia Morrison was responsible for setting Douglas on the task of collecting folklore, song, music and dance:〔
Douglas also began to publish her poetry at this time, submitting poems to and often winning competitions in publications such as ''The Girl's Realm'', ''Lady's Pictorial'', ''Lady'' and ''Gentlewoman''.〔 Her poetry took a stylistic shift in 1908 when she discovered the writing of W. B. Yeats, who would influence her writing for the rest of her life.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mona Douglas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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