May Isabel Fisk (born Taylor, later Campbell-Johnston; May 22, 1872 – 1955) was an American monologist and writer. Known for her humor in her writing as well as performance, she was a contemporary and friend of Mark Twain, who called her "the only woman humorist in America". She lived in Britain for some years circa 1922 but returned to the United States in 1938.
May Isabel Fisk | |
|---|---|
 Fisk c. 1911 | |
| Born | May Isabel Taylor May 22, 1872 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | 1955 (aged 82–83) Paddington, London, U.K. |
| Nationality | American British[1] |
| Other names | May Isabel Campbell-Johnston |
| Occupation(s) | Monologist, writer |
| Spouses | |
Early life and education
editMay Isabel Taylor was born on May 22, 1872,[2][Notes 1] in New York City, to Isabelle (Gray) and William Willard Taylor.[3] She attended the Sylvanus Reed school in New York and studied voice with a teacher named Toriani in Paris.[7]
Career
editFisk wrote "six books of comic monologues, two books of fiction, several plays, and numerous short stories".[8] Her monologues generally concerned "society women" who did not treat those around them with respect.[9] She wrote at least 60.[10] Some were written in dialect.[10] In addition to her written work, Fisk also performed on the vaudeville stage.[8]
Critic Maggie B. Gale, comparing Fisk to Beatrice Herford, argues that both adopted an "anthropological perspective" on "social types" of the time.[11] Julia Hans argues that "Fisk expresses women's discontent through a mask of humor at a time when popular writers idealized feminine felicity and passivity".[12]
According to Mark Twain, a friend of hers,[8] Fisk was the "only woman humorist in America".[13] She said she began writing humor because she didn't want to laugh alone. Fisk said, "Women are so funny because they take trivial things so seriously and because they are so unconsciously humorous".[14]
Personal life
editMay Taylor married Clinton Bowen Fisk on January 27, 1894.[5][6] Her husband was the son of Clinton B. Fisk, who endowed Fisk University. Clinton Jr. worked as a newspaper editor and theatrical manager until his death in 1909.[15] The couple had one child, Clinton B. Fisk, who later went by the name of Clinton Gray-Fisk, and became a music critic and animal rights activist.[1][16][17] After Clinton Jr.'s death, May married Malcolm Campbell-Johnston on August 1, 1922, becoming a British national.[3][1][Notes 2]
As of 1922, Fisk lived in London.[13] She came back to the United States in 1938 after the death of her second husband, Malcolm Campbell-Johnston, and settled in California.[19] In 1943, Fisk began working as a real estate developer of lots in Redondo Beach, California.[20] She died in Paddington, London, in 1955.[21]
Works
editNotes
edit- ^ Birth date is stated as May 22, 1885, in a 1976 biographical dictionary of authors and as 1890 in a 1978 publication.[3][4] However, her marriage record shows she married in 1894.[5][6] Given that the 1976 birth date would have made her nine years old and the 1978 birth date would have made her four years old, the census date has been used. Note that when she died in 1955 her age was given as 83 which would give a birth year about 1872
- ^ Upon passage of the Expatriation Act of 1907, wives in the US acquired their husband's nationality upon any marriage occurring after March 2, 1907. Though the Cable Act was passed in September 1922, women who had lost their nationality through marrying a foreigner could only repatriate if they applied to be naturalized.[18]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c "St. AlbansVermont District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory: Campbell-Johnston, May Isabel". FamilySearch. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. October 7, 1938. NARA Series M1463, Roll 17. Retrieved November 25, 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ "1900 US Census: Borough of Manhattan, New York City". FamilySearch. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. June 12, 1900. p. 11B. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll #1115, lines 85-86. Retrieved November 25, 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ a b c Who Was Who among North American authors, 1921–1939. Gale. 1976. p. 273. OCLC 607723710.
- ^ Who Was Who among English and European authors, 1931–1949. Vol. 1. Gale. 1978. pp. 271–272. ISBN 978-0-8103-0040-8. OCLC 3870691.
- ^ a b "Week in Society". New-York Tribune. New York City. January 28, 1894. p. 7. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940: May Taylor/Clinton Fisk". FamilySearch. New York City: New York City Municipal Archives. January 27, 1894. microfilm #1439743. Retrieved November 25, 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ a b "Literary Notes". The Pittsburgh Press. December 19, 1903. p. 14 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Hans 2010, p. 129.
- ^ Gale 2007, p. 298.
- ^ a b Hans 2010, p. 131.
- ^ Gale 2007, pp. 297–298.
- ^ Hans 2010, p. 130.
- ^ a b c "May Isabel Fisk to Marry Londoner". Asheville Citizen-Times. August 21, 1922. p. 4 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Notman, Otis (April 13, 1907). "Talks with Writers of Books". The New York Times Saturday Review of Books. New York City: 244–245.
- ^ "Clinton B. Fisk Dead". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. November 29, 1909. p. 2. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New York City Births, 1846-1909: Clinton Bowen Fisk". FamilySearch. New York City: New York Municipal Archives. July 7, 1904. microfilm #1984241. Retrieved November 25, 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ Barham, Pat (September 29, 1960). "Notebook". The Southwest Wave. Los Angeles, California. p. 8. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Smith, Marian L. (Summer 1998). "'Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married ...': Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802–1940". Prologue Magazine. 30 (2). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: 146–153, part 1, part 2. ISSN 0033-1031. OCLC 208742006.
- ^ "Last Tribune Paid Noted Pasadena Woman at Rites". Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News. December 30, 1942. p. 3 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Half Million Building Project to Get Underway". The Redondo Reflex. Redondo, California. April 2, 1943. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007". FamilySearch. Southport, England: General Register Office. 1955. Retrieved November 25, 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ "Some Funny Hits at Feminine Foibles". Austin American-Statesman. December 6, 1903. p. 22 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Piacentino 2011, p. 92.
- ^ "The Talking Woman". The Morning Journal-Courier. New Haven, Connecticut. August 31, 1907. p. 14 – via newspapers.com.
Bibliography
edit- Gale, Maggie B. (2007). "Going solo: an historical perspective on the actress and the monologue". In Gale, Maggie B. (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Actress. Cambridge University Press. pp. 291–313. doi:10.1017/ccol9780521846066.016. ISBN 978-0-521-84606-6.
- Hans, Julia (2010). "'Landy Goshen! Here comes a whole troop o' them city boarders': May Isabel Fisk's Dialect Monologues". Studies in American Humor (22): 129–145. doi:10.2307/42573599. ISSN 0095-280X. JSTOR 42573599.
- Piacentino, Ed (2011). "Mark Twain and May Isabel Fisk: Parallels in Comic Monologues". Mark Twain Journal. 49 (1/2): 92–108. ISSN 0025-3499. JSTOR 41938064.