John Coulter
John Coulter was a notable playwright and educator born on February 12, 1888, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He pursued his education at the Municipal Technical Institute, the School of Art in Belfast, and the University of Manchester in England. His early career as a teacher of art and English took him to Coleraine Academical Institution and Wesley College in Dublin, where he became involved with the Abbey Theatre and was inspired by the influential poet William Butler Yeats. In 1936, Coulter emigrated to Canada with his wife, Olive Clare Primrose, where he became a significant figure in Canadian theatre.
Known primarily for his work as a dramatist, Coulter contributed to various media, including radio and newspapers, and was instrumental in the development of modern Canadian drama. He co-founded key cultural organizations, including the Canadian Conference of the Arts and the Canada Council, and was involved in the establishment of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. His plays often explored themes of historical conflict, including the Protestant-Catholic tensions in Northern Ireland and the life of Louis Riel. After a brief return to playwriting in 1980, Coulter passed away later that year, leaving behind a legacy as one of Canada's most celebrated playwrights.
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John Coulter
Playwright
- Born: February 12, 1888
- Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Died: December 1, 1980
Biography
John Coulter was born on February 12, 1888, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the son of Francis and Annie Coulter. He attended the Municipal Technical Institute and the School of Art, both in Belfast, and the University of Manchester in England. From 1913 to 1919, he worked as a teacher of art and English, first at Coleraine Academical Institution in Coleraine, Ireland, and then at Wesley College in Dublin, Ireland. While in Dublin, Coulter became involved with the Abbey Theatre, where the poet and playwright William Butler Yeats was a prominent figure. Coulter was inspired by Yeats and returned to Northern Ireland in 1919 to establish a theater in Ulster. From 1919 to the end of his long life in 1980, he made his living as a writer and editor. He immigrated to Canada in 1936, following Olive Clare Primrose, also a writer, whom he married on July 4, 1936. The couple settled in Toronto and the marriage produced two daughters.
Primarily known as a dramatist, Coulter contributed plays, feature programs, criticism, and reviews to the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Eireann. He also wrote articles for journals and newspapers in England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States. Although he resided in Ireland until he was in his late forties, his career as a resident of Canada spanned an additional forty years, and he is ranked as one of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights. His works for radio, stage, and television were critical to the growth of modern Canadian drama. Coulter was active in promoting arts and cultural support organizations, cofounding the Canadian Conference of the Arts and playing an instrumental role in the founding of the Canada Council and the renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival. His combination of playwriting talent and pragmatic arts development skills led many to refer to him as the Dean of Canadian Playwrights.
Coulter often used historical settings and events to provide the essential conflicts of his dramas. These included plays on the Protestant-Catholic conflict in Northern Ireland and a historical drama about Louis Riel, the controversial Metis leader who headed the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 and was later executed for treason.
Coulter’s wife died suddenly in 1971, and he suspended his playwriting activities at that time to concentrate on preparing a collection of his wife’s journals, letters the couple exchanged, and a memoir, In My Day. In 1980, at the age of ninety-two, he returned briefly to playwriting before his death later that year.