Mary Katherine Keemle "Kate" Field (pen name, Straws, Jr.; October ,
â€" May , ) was an American journalist, correspondent, paragraphist,
editor, lecturer, and actress, of eccentric talent.Field was a unique
figure in the history of American journalism. She began writing when
still in her teens, and her letters to the Springfield Republican of
Massachusetts, and other papers, over the signature of "Straws, Jr.,"
were well received. She wrote from Washington, D.C., New York City,
and Europe. She was one of the few successful paragraphists, and her
criticisms of art, music, and the drama, were just. She was both
editor and publisher of her paper, Washington.Mary Katherine Keemle
Field, known to her friends and family as Kate, was born October , ,
in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of actors Joseph M. Field and
Eliza Riddle. In , the family moved to New Orleans, where Field's
father worked for the New Orleans Picayune and a local theater
company. The family returned to St. Louis by , where her father opened
a theater company, before moving to Mobile, Alabama.Field was a
precocious child who showed an early interest in literature. She
published her first poem, "A Child's Muse", at nine years old in her
father's newspaper in St. Louis. In the fall of , she was sent to live
with wealthy relatives in Cordaville, Massachusetts, while she
attended Lasell Female Seminary (now Lasell College). At age , she was
sent to Europe to travel as a form of education. She spent time in
Florence, Italy studying voice, and there she also began writing for
American newspapers. A story circulated that she was abducted while in
Sicily by brigands who demanded a substantial ransom. After six weeks,
her family paid the requested amount, but not before the leader of the
gang had fallen in love with her and proposed. Though she turned down
the engagement, her positive influence allegedly inspired him to move
to a monastery.
â€" May , ) was an American journalist, correspondent, paragraphist,
editor, lecturer, and actress, of eccentric talent.Field was a unique
figure in the history of American journalism. She began writing when
still in her teens, and her letters to the Springfield Republican of
Massachusetts, and other papers, over the signature of "Straws, Jr.,"
were well received. She wrote from Washington, D.C., New York City,
and Europe. She was one of the few successful paragraphists, and her
criticisms of art, music, and the drama, were just. She was both
editor and publisher of her paper, Washington.Mary Katherine Keemle
Field, known to her friends and family as Kate, was born October , ,
in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of actors Joseph M. Field and
Eliza Riddle. In , the family moved to New Orleans, where Field's
father worked for the New Orleans Picayune and a local theater
company. The family returned to St. Louis by , where her father opened
a theater company, before moving to Mobile, Alabama.Field was a
precocious child who showed an early interest in literature. She
published her first poem, "A Child's Muse", at nine years old in her
father's newspaper in St. Louis. In the fall of , she was sent to live
with wealthy relatives in Cordaville, Massachusetts, while she
attended Lasell Female Seminary (now Lasell College). At age , she was
sent to Europe to travel as a form of education. She spent time in
Florence, Italy studying voice, and there she also began writing for
American newspapers. A story circulated that she was abducted while in
Sicily by brigands who demanded a substantial ransom. After six weeks,
her family paid the requested amount, but not before the leader of the
gang had fallen in love with her and proposed. Though she turned down
the engagement, her positive influence allegedly inspired him to move
to a monastery.
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