Jocelyn Henry Clive 'Harry' Graham (1874-1936) was an English journalist, writer of humorous verse in a tradition of grotesquerie and black humor also exemplified by Hilaire Belloc, and lyricist for operettas and musical comedies. Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (27 July 1870 &ndash 16 July 1953 was a French -born Writer who became a Naturalised British subject Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance.
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Life and career
Graham was educated at Eton and Sandhurst. Eton College, or just Eton, is a world-famous British Independent school for boys founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst ( RMAS) commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army officer initial training centre He was a captain in the Coldstream Guards, and he often wrote under the pseudonym "Col D Streamer". Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards (COLDM GDS is a Regiment of the British Army, part of
From 1898 to 1901 Graham assisted Lord Minto, the Governor-General of Canada. Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound 4th Earl of Minto, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC ( London July 9, 1845 Graham kept a journal of his trip across Canada with Minto to the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon in 1900, called Across Canada to the Klondyke, which he later presented to Minto, and which was eventually published. The Klondike Gold Rush, infrequently referred to as the Yukon Gold Rush or Alaska Gold Rush, was a frenzy of Gold rush Immigration to and for Yukon (ˈjuːkɒn is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three territories.
After returning to Britain, Graham worked as a journalist and author of popular fiction, including A Group of Scottish Women (1908). His poetry collections, such as Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes (1899), for which he used the pseudonym Colonel D. Streamer, More Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes (1930), and When Grandmama Fell Off the Boat contain such verses as those shown below.
Graham was engaged to Ethel Barrymore but they did not marry. Ethel Barrymore ( August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an Academy Award -winning American actress and a member of He married Dorothy Villiers in 1910, and they had a daughter named Virginia Thesiger who was also a poet. [1]
During World War I, Graham turned to writing lyrics for English operettas and musical comedies, including Tina (1915) Sybil (1916), the 1917 hit operetta The Maid of the Mountains and A Southern Maid (1920), and English adaptations for European operettas such as Madame Pompadour (1923), The Land of Smiles (1931) and many others. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter Jose Collins Maidjpg|right|thumb|250px| Jose Collins as Teresa]] The Maid of the Mountains, called in its original score a Musical play, is an Operetta A Southern Maid is an Operetta in three acts composed by Harold Fraser-Simson, with a book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham and lyrics by Harry Graham and Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour ( December 29, 1721 &ndash April 15, 1764 The Land of Smiles ( Das Land des Lächelns) is a 'romantic' Operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár.
Published works
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Ruthless Rhymes
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References
- Information about Graham and his writings
- Sleeve Notes for the Hyperion recording of The Maid of the Mountains
- Dutch site about Graham with images and many helpful links
External links
- "Ruthless Rhymes: A site dedicated to the poetry of Harry Graham and the myriad of morbid poets he inspired"
- Harry Graham's Broadway operettas and musicals at the IBDB database
- Photo of Graham and interview of his niece from the BBC Radio 4
Bibliography
- Graham, Harry, Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes (1899)
- Graham, Harry, More Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes (Edward Arnold & Co, London, 1930)
- Graham, Harry. Hyperion Records is an independent British classical Record label, named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology Jose Collins Maidjpg|right|thumb|250px| Jose Collins as Teresa]] The Maid of the Mountains, called in its original score a Musical play, is an Operetta Across Canada to the Klondyke. New York: Methuen (1984)
- A Group of Scottish Women, 1908
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